Sensible drinking can dramatically reduce your risk of a stroke, but only if you don’t enjoy a cigarette at the same time, research suggests.

A study of over 20,000 people in the UK found non-smokers who drank moderate amounts were nearly 40% less likely to have a stroke than non-drinkers.

But once cigarettes were added, this protective effect vanished.

The findings are being presented at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Toronto.