AN ARGUMENT over smokes escalated quickly one night in Tannymorel and ended with a 17-year-old battered and bruised at the hands of his cousin.

David Andrew Scott accused his cousin's girlfriend of stealing his tobacco.

When his cousin stood up for her, things turned violent in an attack that magistrate Bevan Manthey labelled "nasty, vicious and protracted”.

Scott punched the teenager in the nose and mouth before grabbing him by the throat.

The victim, who Mr Manthey noted was illiterate and spoke with an impediment, was spared the trauma of reliving the experience when the matter went before Warwick Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Scott pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm and one of breaching bail.

Solicitor Clare Hine told the court the bail breach related to prohibited phone calls, which her client claimed were made by accident.

Moving on to the matter of the assault, Ms Hine said Scott admitted to being highly intoxicated after drinking "close to a cask of wine”.

Having relocated from Cairns to Warwick, he was staying with the victim and his family at the time of the assault in November last year.

Ms Hine said Scott acknowledged his behaviour was inappropriate and took full responsibility.

She said the 43-year-old had been experiencing some mental health issues and had been self-medicating with alcohol when the offence occurred.

In sentencing, Mr Manthey noted that intoxication by drugs or alcohol was not a mitigating factor when courts sentenced an offender.

He also acknowledged Scott's history, which included three counts of assault causing bodily harm in 1996 and a number of traffic matters.

But he noted that each case before a court must be considered on its own unique set of circumstances.

"When I look at the circumstances of the offence, they are serious,” Mr Manthey said.

Scott was sentenced to 18 months' jail but will be released on parole after serving two months.