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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2024 Jun;119(6):1059-1070.
doi: 10.1111/add.16472. Epub 2024 Mar 14.

Co-action and changes in alcohol use during a smoking cessation attempt

Christine Vinci  1 , Cho Y Lam  2 , Paul E Etcheverry  3 , Virmarie Correa-Fernandez  4 , Miguel Ángel Cano  5 , Paul M Cinciripini  6 , David W Wetter  2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Co-action and changes in alcohol use during a smoking cessation attempt

Christine Vinci et al. Addiction. 2024 Jun.

Abstract

Aims: Three smoking cessation studies (CARE, Break Free, Por Nuestra Salud [PNS]) were used to measure changes in average alcohol consumption, binge drinking and alcohol-related problems during a smoking cessation attempt and to explore co-action with smoking abstinence.

Design: CARE and PNS were longitudinal cohort cessation studies; Break Free was a two-arm randomized clinical trial.

Setting: Texas, USA.

Participants: Participants were current smokers who were recruited from the community and received smoking cessation interventions. All participants received nicotine replacement therapy and smoking cessation counseling. CARE included 424 smokers (1/3 White, 1/3 African American and 1/3 Latino); Break Free included 399 African American smokers; PNS included 199 Spanish-speaking Mexican-American smokers.

Measurements: Weekly alcohol consumption was collected multiple times pre and post-quit, and binge drinking and alcohol-related problems were collected at baseline and 26 weeks post-quit. Analyses included only those who indicated current alcohol use.

Findings: Average alcohol consumption decreased from baseline to 26 weeks post-quit in CARE (F = 17.09, P < 0.001), Break Free (F = 12.08, P < 0.001) and PNS (F = 10.21, P < 0.001). Binge drinking decreased from baseline to 26 weeks post-quit in CARE (F = 3.94, P = 0.04) and Break Free (F = 10.41, P < 0.001) but not PNS. Alcohol-related problems decreased from baseline to 26 weeks post-quit in CARE (Chi-sq = 6.41, P = 0.010) and Break Free (Chi sq = 14.44, P = 0.001), but not PNS.

Conclusions: Among current drinkers, alcohol use/problems appear to decrease during a smoking cessation attempt and remain low through 26 weeks after the quit attempt. Little evidence was found for co-action, with smoking abstainers and relapsers showing similar change in alcohol use/problems.

Keywords: alcohol use; binge drinking; co‐action; problematic drinking; race/ethnicity; smoking cessation.

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Conflict of interest statement

DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

P.M.C. has served on the scientific advisory board of Pfızer Pharmaceuticals and has conducted educational talks sponsored by Pfızer on smoking cessation for physicians in 2008. No other financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this paper.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Adjusted log transformed means for alcohol consumption over time. The vertical axis indicates the average number of drinks (log transformed) per week that participants reported.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Adjusted log transformed binge drinking episodes over time. The vertical axis indicates the number of times (log transformed) participants reported binge drinking in the last 3 months for CARE and Break Free or in the last month for Por Nuestra Salud (PNS).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Adjusted percentages for alcohol-related problems over time. The vertical axis indicates the percentage of participants who met criteria for alcohol-related problems at each time point.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Adjusted log transformed means for weekly alcohol consumption for relapsers versus abstainers in Break Free. The vertical axis indicates the average log transformed number of drinks per week reported by participants.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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