ABSTRACT
However, we cannot take these fine statistical results as a proof that smoking causes high blood pressure. A typical counterargument will be that subjects who smoke a lot also tend to have high alcohol consumption, and that this alcohol consumption is responsible for the high blood pressure but not the smoking itself. In our study, we have also collected data on alcohol consumption, and we can see in our data that alcohol consumption is associated with smoking (Figure 4.2) as well as with high blood pressure (Figure 4.3), suggesting that we have to take this counterargument seriously.
