Changes in smoking for adults with and without alcohol and drug use disorders: longitudinal evaluation in the US...

Little is known about the smoking cessation and smoking relapse behavior of adults with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and drug use disorders (DUDs).

The current study used longitudinal data from a representative sample of the US adult population to examine changes in smoking over 3 years for men and women with and without AUD and DUD diagnoses.

Participants were current or former daily cigarette smokers at Wave 1 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions who completed the Wave 2 assessment 3 years later (n = 11,973; 46% female). Analyses examined the main and gender-specific effects of AUD and DUD diagnoses on smoking cessation and smoking relapse.

Wave 1 current daily smokers with a current AUD (OR = .70, 95% CI = .55, .89), past AUD (OR = .73, 95% CI = .60, .89), current DUD (OR = .48, 95% CI = .31, .76), and past DUD (OR = .62, 95% CI = .49, .79) were less likely to have quit smoking at Wave 2 than those with no AUD or DUD diagnosis. Wave 1 former daily smokers with a current AUD (OR = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.36, 3.73), current DUD (OR = 7.97, 95% CI = 2.51, 25.34), and past DUD (OR = 2.69, 95% CI = 1.84, 3.95) were more likely to have relapsed to smoking at Wave 2 than those with no AUD or DUD diagnosis. The gender by diagnosis interactions were not significant.

Current and past AUDs and DUDs were associated with a decreased likelihood of quitting smoking, while current AUDs, current DUDs, and past DUDs were associated with an increased likelihood of smoking relapse.