• Smoking Ban Is Proposed in Drug Centers  

New York would become the first state requiring all addiction treatment programs to help their clients quit smoking under a proposed rule to be announced today.

Pointing to the high number of tobacco-related deaths among former addicts, the state's Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Service said that by July 24 of next year, all facilities treating drug or alcohol addiction would have to have programs in place to encourage clients to stop smoking. Under the plan, all treatment centers would have to be smoke-free, and staff members would also have to abide by the ban. . . .

"It was thought that treating the tobacco dependence would put unfair pressure on the patient working toward recovery," Karen M. Carpenter-Palumbo, the commissioner of the substance abuse agency, said in a written statement. "We now know that's not true. Including tobacco dependence while treating other addictions actually leads to higher recovery success rates. We need to focus on the overall wellness of our patients and not ignore this deadly addiction."

Still, this approach is not undisputed in the scientific community. . . .

Dr. Richard Hurt, the director of the Nicotine Dependence Center at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., however, said most studies showed that treating nicotine addiction along with others had no effect on treatment effectiveness. . . .

"It is a very progressive step that New York is taking," he said, "and it brings attention to the substance that is most likely to cause the death of the patient. I don't know of any other state that has."

Treatment for nicotine addiction, including drugs to relieve cravings, would have to be offered to all patients, and provided free to those without insurance. Patients who refuse to quit smoking could still be treated for other addictions, but they would not be allowed to smoke at the treatment centers.

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It is a very progressive step that New York is taking, and it brings attention to the substance that is most likely to cause the death of the patient.
Dr. Richard Hurt, the director of the Nicotine Dependence Center at the Mayo Clinic, on the proposal by New York's Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Service to require all facilities treating drug or alcohol addiction to have smoking cessation programs and be smoke-free.