According to a psychiatrist, the thought that artists are inspired by drugs and alcohol to create magnificent work of art, is a dangerous myth. The reason behind it is that they suppress creativity, rather than boosting it.

Consultant in Addiction Psychiatry at Gartnavel Royal Hospital in Glasgow, Iain Smith, is of the view that many artists, who were renowned for their use of such substances, produced their greatest works, when they under the effect of alcohol.

Smith revealed that the myth owes its popularity to the appeal of these intoxicating substances. The myth is also powerful because many artistes require drugs to handle their emotions. He also disclosed that artists are highly emotional and therefore, use of these substances to cope up with their emotions is expected to happen.

He further added that alcohol and drugs were widely used in social get-togethers. Artists like Hemingway and French artist Edgar Degas, spent majority of his time in cafes, where they used to discuss their views and drank large amounts of absinthe and other varieties of alcohol.

According to Smith Tennessee Williams, an American Writer, was an alcohol addict. He also revealed some other popular names of writers and poets, who consumed intoxicating substances. These names included poets like John Keats and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who consumed opium. The list includes writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and Marcel Proust, who were also opiates.