Persons with depression are more likely to smoke cigarettes and have greater difficulty quitting smoking. Community-based and public health approaches may need to begin considering the links between depression and smoking in order to best target the current smokers in the population and develop more effective tobacco control campaigns.

Objective Little is known about the relationship between cigarette smoking and long-term substance use disorder (SUD) outcomes. The current study examined the association between smoking and SUD relapse among adults with remitted SUDs. Method Analyses were conducted on respondents who completed Waves 1 and 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions and met DSM-IV criteria for substance abuse and/or prior to but not during the year before the Wave 1 interview (n=5,515). Relationships between smoking status (Wave 2 smoking versus non-smoking among Wave 1 smokers; Wave 2 smoking versus non-smoking among Wave 1 non-smokers) and Wave 2 substance use and SUD relapse were examined using logistic regression analyses. Analyses were adjusted for demographics; psychiatric and alcohol use disorders; nicotine dependence; and SUD severity. Results In the fully adjusted models, among Wave 1 smokers, continued smoking at Wave 2 was associated with significantly greater odds of substance use (OR=1.56, 95% CI=1.10-2.20) and SUD relapse (OR=2.02, 95% CI=1.65-2.47) compared to Wave 2 non-smoking. In the fully adjusted model, among Wave 1 non-smokers, smoking at Wave 2 was associated with significantly greater odds of SUD relapse compared to Wave 2 non-smoking (OR=4.86, 95% CI=3.11-7.58). Conclusion Continued smoking for smokers and smoking initiation for non-smokers was associated with greater odds of SUD relapse. More research is needed to examine the timing of SUD relapse in relation to smoking behaviors. Incorporating smoking cessation and prevention efforts into substance abuse treatment may improve long-term substance use outcomes for adult smokers with SUDs.

This is the first paper to examine, in detail, sociobehavioral correlates of tobacco use in PLHC. PLHC are recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services as a high-priority health disparities population. We are not aware of any tobacco treatment services designed specifically for PLHC. The first step in designing an intervention is defining the characteristics of the target group. Our findings will begin to address this need, and may prove useful in optimizing tobacco treatment strategies for smokers living with hepatitis C.

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Persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) smoke at high prevalences and experience significant smoking-related consequences. In community samples, perceived risks and benefits of quitting smoking are related to quit motivation and outcomes and are more strongly endorsed by women. This study examined perceived risks and benefits of quitting smoking and the relationship between risks and benefits and quit motivation and confidence in male and female PLWH. One hundred seven PLWH who reported current cigarette smoking completed measures of demographics, smoking, perceived risks and benefits of quitting smoking, motivation to quit smoking, and confidence in ability to quit smoking. The highest endorsed risks of quitting smoking were cravings and weight gain and higher endorsement of craving risks was associated with lower confidence in the ability to quit smoking. Women endorsed overall risks and risks related to negative affect more highly than men. Women and men did not differ in their endorsement of the other risks, the benefits of quitting, or the relationship between risks and benefits and quit motivation or confidence. It may be useful for health care professionals to incorporate information about perceived risks and benefits of quitting smoking into treatment when working with PLWH who want to stop smoking.