Wine News

Drinking red wine while having a cigarette may help ease the damaging effects of cigarettes, according to a study published in the February issue of the American Heart Journal. The research, conducted at the Alexandra University Hospital in Athens, Greece, found that both red wine and non-alcoholic red wine helped alleviate the inflammation of endothelial cells -- which line the blood vessels and heart cavity and regulate blood flow -- caused by inhaling cigarette smoke. "Smoking caused a significant impairment in endothelial function," wrote the study authors. "Simultaneous consumption of red wine or [non-alcoholic] red wine with smoking decreased smoke's harmful effect."

Previous research has shown that cigarette smoke contains free radicals, or damaging oxygen molecules, that may cause oxidative stress to the blood vessels, causing them to constrict and needlessly slow blood flow. In these studies, the inflammation of the blood vessels was eased by the use of antioxidant supplements containing vitamins C and E.

Because other studies have documented red wine's high level of antioxidants (compounds that mop up free radicals), the scientists in Athens theorized that wine may perform a function similar to that of the vitamins, whether or not it contains alcohol.