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
. 2020 Dec 15;12(12):3834.
doi: 10.3390/nu12123834.

Food Addiction and Tobacco Use Disorder: Common Liability and Shared Mechanisms

Laurie Zawertailo  1   2 , Sophia Attwells  2 , Wayne K deRuiter  2 , Thao Lan Le  2 , Danielle Dawson  2 , Peter Selby  2   3   4   5
Affiliations
Review

Food Addiction and Tobacco Use Disorder: Common Liability and Shared Mechanisms

Laurie Zawertailo et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

As food addiction is being more commonly recognized within the scientific community, parallels can be drawn between it and other addictive substance use disorders, including tobacco use disorder. Given that both unhealthy diets and smoking are leading risk factors for disability and death, a greater understanding of how food addiction and tobacco use disorder overlap with one another is necessary. This narrative review aimed to highlight literature that investigated prevalence, biology, psychology, and treatment options of food addiction and tobacco use disorder. Published studies up to August 2020 and written in English were included. Using a biopsychosocial lens, each disorder was assessed together and separately, as there is emerging evidence that the two disorders can develop concurrently or sequentially within individuals. Commonalities include but are not limited to the dopaminergic neurocircuitry, gut microbiota, childhood adversity, and attachment insecurity. In addition, the authors conducted a feasibility study with the purpose of examining the association between food addiction symptoms and tobacco use disorder among individuals seeking tobacco use disorder treatment. To inform future treatment approaches, more research is necessary to identify and understand the overlap between the two disorders.

Keywords: comorbidity; food addiction; nicotine; tobacco use disorder.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

S.A., T.L.L., and D.D. report no conflicts of interest. L.Z. has received peer-reviewed funding from Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Ministry of Health of Long-term Care, including salary support from Pfizer Inc. (GRAND Award) and the Health Services Research Fund from the Ontario Ministry of Health. W.K.d. reports receiving grants from the Public Health Agency of Canada and Pfizer Inc. W.K.d. is also a shareholder of Abbott Laboratories. P.S. reports receiving grants and/or salary and/or research support from the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, Health Canada, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term care, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ontario Lung Association, Medical Psychiatry Alliance, Extensions for Community Healthcare Outcomes, Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute, Cancer Care Ontario, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Ontario Brain Institute, McLaughlin Center, Academic Health Sciences Center, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, National Institutes of Health, and the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada. P.S. also reports receiving funding and/or honoraria from the following commercial organizations: Pfizer Inc./Canada, Shoppers Drug Mart, Bhasin Consulting Fund Inc., Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, ABBVie, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Furthermore, P.S. reports receiving consulting fees from Pfizer Inc./Canada, Evidera Inc., Johnson & Johnson Group of Companies, Medcan Clinic, Inflexxion Inc., V-CC Systems Inc., MedPlan Communications, Kataka Medical Communications, Miller Medical Communications, Nvision Insight Group, and Sun Life Financial.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Abdelaal M., Le Roux C.W., Docherty N.G. Morbidity and mortality associated with obesity. Ann. Transl. Med. 2017;5:161. doi: 10.21037/atm.2017.03.107. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jamal A., Phillips E., Gentzke A.S., Homa D.M., Babb S.D., King B.A., Neff L.J. Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults — United States, 2016. MMWR. Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 2018;67:53–59. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6702a1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. American Psychiatric Press; Washington, DC, USA: 2013.
    1. Schulte E.M., Joyner M.A., Potenza M.N., Grilo C.M., Gearhardt A.N. Current Considerations Regarding Food Addiction. Curr. Psychiatry Rep. 2015;17:1–8. doi: 10.1007/s11920-015-0563-3. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Randolph T.G. The Descriptive Features of Food Addiction. Addictive Eating and Drinking. Q. J. Stud. Alcohol. 1956;17:198–224. doi: 10.15288/qjsa.1956.17.198. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms