Quitting smoking helps you break up with other addictions

Adults who smoke cigarettes and are also addicted to alcohol or other psychoactive substances are more likely to quit if they also quit smoking, according to research published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Scientists from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) reached these conclusions after analyzing data from 2,652 individuals aged 18 or older who had undergone substance abuse treatment and remained abstinent for four years. During the PATH study, patients were annually surveyed for information on their smoking and other substance use.

The analysis showed that people who quit smoking were 42 percent more likely to quit other addictions than those who continued to smoke.

"We now have strong evidence (...) that quitting cigarette smoking increases the chances of breaking addictions to other psychoactive substances," commented Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which partially funded the study. She believes this reinforces the importance of treating various addictions together.

The authors of the study remind us that people addicted to alcohol or other psychoactive substances are often also addicted to nicotine. "Although the health benefits of quitting smoking are well known, quitting this addiction has not been considered a high priority in treatment programs for other addictions," noted Wilson Compton, deputy director of NIDA and co-author of the study. He added that the latest results confirm that quitting nicotine should be included in such programs.

The researchers estimate that the new findings can be generalized to the millions of adults suffering from substance use disorders. However, further research is needed on this topic, as well as on the best methods to support smoking cessation among people undergoing treatment for other addictions or who have completed addiction treatment. (PAP)

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