Relationship between alcohol and tobacco dependencies among alcoholics who smoke

Abstract

Outpatients followed in an alcoholic clinic and who fulfilled DSM-III-R criteria for alcohol dependence and had used both tobacco (at least one cigarette every day) and alcohol in the preceding week were studied. For each patient, two experimenters assessed: (1) the amount of tobacco and alcohol used; (2) the severity of dependence for each product. Results showed that: (a) The prevalence of smoking in this population of current alcohol dependents was 88%; (b) 91.6% of this sample of smoker alcoholics were dependent on nicotine; (c) the amount of tobacco smoked was correlated to the amount of alcohol consumed and the severity of alcohol dependence; and (d) there was a correlation between the severity of alcohol and nicotine dependencies. The results of this study may help to clarify the difficulty of treating tobacco dependence in alcoholics.

Changes in cigarette consumption and drinking outcomes: Findings from Project MATCH

“…Individuals undergoing treatment for alcohol and drug use disorders tend to smoke at rates as high as 70-95%, as compared with the 23.3% rate reported for the general population (Batel, Pessione, Maitre, & Rueff, 1995;Bobo, McIlvain, Lando, Walker, & Leed-Kelly, 1998;Burling & Ziff, 1988;Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2002;Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2002;Zimmerman, Warheit, Ulbrich, & Auth, 1990). Moreover, these individuals are likely to continue smoking during and after substance abuse treatment, thereby increasing their risk of acquiring tobaccorelated illnesses (Bobo et al, 1998;Myers & Brown, 1994).…”

Nicotine improves ethanol-induced memory impairment: The role of dorsal hippocampal NMDA receptors

“…The vast majority of alcoholics are heavy smokers (Bien and Burge 1990; Batel et al 1995). Both nicotine and ethanol excite the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system which is involved in mediating some of the reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse (for review see Larsson and Engel 2004).…”

The effects of nicotine on ethanol-induced conditioned taste aversions in Long–Evans rats

“…Polydrug use is becoming increasingly more common, with nicotine and alcohol being two of the most commonly co-used psychoactive drugs (Barrett et al 2006;Batel et al 1995). Upwards of 80 to 90% of alcoholics reportedly smoke cigarettes (Perkins 1997;Romberger and Grant 2004).…”