Health has an article up today that says stock brokers on Wall Street smoke more when the market is in rough shape [READ]. That’s a bit of a no-brainer – smokers smoke more when they’re stressed?? Call the Associated Press! Call The Economist!! There is a link between smoking and stock-market volatility – the vice factor.

Stocks right across the board have taken a hit in 2008 but if you look at the historical performance of tobacco companies in the stock market, they do pretty well regardless of a bear or bull market. This even holds true when you take into consideration the huge legal battles that these companies have lost in the past few years in class-action lawsuits.

If the stock price of tobacco companies is tied to the amount of cigarettes people consume, it’s likely that an economic meltdown is actually good business for cigarette companies. Health advocates should ramp up their anti-smoking campaigns in conjunction with any major economic downturn.