Smoking cessation in outpatient alcohol treatment

Objective: This study examined the effect of a smoking cessation intervention on alcohol abstinence. Veterans (n = 40) in an outpatient substance abuse treatment program were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. Methods: The intervention consisted of 5 weekly education and group therapy sessions. A repeated measure design was used to compare outcome measures of smoking cessation and sobriety from alcohol in 2 groups (control, intervention) at baseline, 2 weeks, 1 month, 6 months, and 12 months. Results: There was a trend in the direction of greater alcohol use in the intervention group, but differences were not statistically significant at 6 and 12 months. Reported smoking abstinence rates were similar through 6-month follow-up. However, a statistically significant proportion of control participants reported being off cigarettes for at least 24 hours at 6-months. Conclusion: These preliminary data suggest additional studies are needed to determine the effect of smoking cessation on alcohol abstinence.