Tobacco.org

Advocates Call for Treating Tobacco Dependence in Psychiatric Patients 

Smoking cessation services should be integrated into substance use disorder treatment programs, according to David Kalman, MD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts, and colleagues, in their recent review of tobacco dependency among patients who sought treatment for alcoholism.1

"Clearly there exist many barriers to simultaneous treatment of tobacco dependence and other substance use disorders," the investigators observe. "However, most alcoholics in treatment are concerned about their smoking and the preponderance of evidence indicates that trying to quit during substance use disorder treatment does not interfere with sobriety and, in fact, appears to be associated with better alcohol and other drug use outcomes." Kalman and colleagues are among a growing number of clinicians and researchers calling for the recognition of (and interventions for) tobacco dependence as a common comorbidity with other substance use and psychiatric disorders.

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