Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2011 Jun;13(6):401-11.
doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntr048. Epub 2011 Apr 4.

Smoking prevalence in addiction treatment: a review

Joseph Guydish  1 , Emma Passalacqua, Barbara Tajima, Mable Chan, Jongserl Chun, Alan Bostrom
Affiliations
Review

Smoking prevalence in addiction treatment: a review

Joseph Guydish et al. Nicotine Tob Res. 2011 Jun.

Abstract

Introduction: This review explores whether smoking prevalence in addiction treatment samples exceeds that shown in epidemiological data for persons with alcohol or other drug use disorders and whether smoking may have decreased over time in the addiction treatment population as it has done in the general population.

Methods: English language papers published between 1987 and 2009 were searched electronically. Forty papers reporting smoking prevalence for addiction treatment samples in the United States were identified, and key predictor variables were abstracted. Random logistic models were used to assess relationships between each individual predictor (year, treatment modality, primary drug treated, government status, and public/private funding status) and smoking prevalence.

Results: The lowest smoking prevalence aggregated for studies reported in any single year was 65%, well above epidemiological estimates reported among those with alcohol use and drug use disorders. The odds of smoking were higher in methadone maintenance programs (odds ratio [OR] = 2.25, CI = 1.08, 4.68) as compared with outpatient programs. No other variables in the model were significant. Reanalysis omitting recent studies that may represent outliers or confounding with type of treatment showed a small but significant decrease in smoking over time (OR = 0.9891, CI = 0.9888, 0.9893).

Conclusions: The very high smoking rates reported in addiction treatment samples warrant significant, organized, and systemic response from addiction treatment systems, from agencies that fund and regulate those systems, and from agencies concerned with tobacco control.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Smoking prevalence in 42 U.S. addiction treatment studies, in epidemiological reports, and in the U.S. population. The literature review uncovered no studies from U.S. drug treatment facilities in 2004, giving a break in the topmost line at 2004. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data (dotted line) are available in 2000–2009. Prior to 2000, NSDUH used a different variable to reflect any drug or alcohol treatment. The individual points reflect epidemiological data, showing rate of smoking among persons with a substance use disorder. National Comorbidity Study (NCS) data were collected in 1991–92, and National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) data were collected in 2001–2002. The bottom line reflects smoking prevalence in the U.S. general population.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abrams DB, Rohsenow DJ, Niaura RS, Pedraza M, Longabaugh R, Binkoff JA, et al. Smoking and treatment outcome for alcoholics. Behavior Therapy. 1992;23:283–297. doi:10.1016/S0005-7894(05)80386-7.
    1. American Public Health Association. 2003–10 smoking cessation within substance abuse and/or mental health treatment settings. Association News, 2003 Policy Statements. 2003:19–20.
    1. American Society of Addiction Medicine. Public policy statement on nicotine addiction and tobacco (formerly nicotine dependence and tobacco) Chevy Chase, MD: Author; 2008.
    1. Bernstein E, Bernstein J, Levenson S. Project ASSERT: An ED-based intervention to increase access to primary care, preventive services, and the substance abuse treatment system. Annals of Emergency Medicine. 1997;30:181–189. doi:10.1016/S0196-0644(97)70140-9. - PubMed
    1. Bobo JK, Gilchrist LD, Schilling RF, II, Noach B, Schinke SP. Cigarette smoking cessation attempts by recovering alcoholics. Addictive Behaviors. 1987;12:209–215. doi:10.1016/0306-4603(87)90030-X. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms