Smarter teens are more likely to drink alcohol than smoke?

Teens who are academically better may be more prone to different risky behaviours, which may continue well into adulthood.

A study, published in the BMJ, has found that the smartest teenagers are less likely to smoke than their less gifted classmates, but are more likely to drink alcohol and use cannabis, with these patterns persisting into adulthood.

As they enter their teens, the brightest students are less likely to smoke cigarettes but more likely to drink alcohol and use cannabis than less academically clever kids, reveals a British study of 6,000 children, whose behaviour was tracked from age 11 to 19 years-old.