TOPLINE:

Quitting cigarette smoking was associated with a 30% greater likelihood of recovery in individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) compared with continuing to smoke, a large cohort study showed.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers analyzed four waves of data (2013-2023) from the ongoing PATH Study for a nationally representative cohort of more than 2600 adults (mean age, 39 years; 58% men; 63% White individuals).
• They assessed within-person changes in smoking status of never use (9%), former use (44%), and current use (47%) and their association with recovery.
• Time-varying covariates accounted for included mental health, education, medical treatment in the past year, use of varenicline or bupropion or that of urgent or emergency care in the past year, and urban or rural location.
• The primary outcome was SUD recovery, as measured with the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs-Short Screener subscale.

TAKEAWAY:

• After accounting for time-varying covariates, a within-person change from current to former smoking status was associated with increased odds of SUD recovery compared with continuing to smoke (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.30; P = .009).
• In sensitivity analyses with a 1-year lagged smoking predictor, the association remained significant (aOR, 1.43; P = .04).
• The association also remained significant in sensitivity analyses conducted in a second nationally representative cohort (aOR, 1.37; P = .002).

IN PRACTICE:

“Although the health benefits of quitting smoking are well-known, smoking cessation has not been seen as a high priority in drug addiction treatment programs. This finding bolsters support for including smoking cessation as part of addiction treatment,” study investigator Wilson M. Compton, MD, MPE, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, said in a press release.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Michael J. Parks, PhD, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health. It was published online on August 13 in JAMA Psychiatry.

LIMITATIONS:

This study lacked direct measures of SUD treatment or medications, and some time-varying factors may not have been captured. Additionally, all measures relied on self-reported data. Additionally, the results applied only to abstinence as the measure of recovery, rather than other potential recovery outcomes.

DISCLOSURES:

This study was supported by federal funds from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institutes of Health. The PATH study was funded by a number of national organizations, including the National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Center for Tobacco Products, and the FDA. Compton reported holding stocks in 3M, General Electric, and Pfizer outside the submitted work. The other investigators reported having no relevant financial relationships.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.