Table 1.
Studies of the effect of smoking cessation on drinking urges and alcohol use.
| Study | Participants and Design | Findings |
|---|---|---|
| Studies of smoking as a strategy to cope with urges to drink | ||
| Monti et al. (1995) | A questionnaire study of 116 smokers in residential SUD treatment for alcohol problems. |
58% of subjects reoported that they have smoked to cope with drinking urges, but only 20% reported that smoking decreases their urge to drink. |
| Asher et al. (2003) | A questionnaire study of 96 smokers in residential treatment for alcohol problems. Subjects were enrolled in a smoking intervention clinical trial but were not required to quit. |
41% of subjects said quitting smoking during AOD treatment would make it harder to stay sober; however, only 13% said that their urges to drink would be too strong to resist if they quit smoking. |
| Rohsenow et al. (2005) | A questionnaire study of 160 smokers in residential SUD treatment for alcohol problems. Subjects were enrolled in a smoking intervention clinical trial but were not required to quit. |
30% of subjects said quitting smoking during alcohol treatment would make it harder to stay sober; smoking to cope with AOD urges did not predict AOD use (i.e., relapse) three months after the start of SUD treatment. |
| Kalman et al. (2001) | A questionnaire study of 80 smokers in residential SUD treatment for alcohol problems. Subjects were enrolled in a smoking cessation clinical trial. |
29% of subjects said that smoking would help them cope with an urge to drink during periods of sobriety; among these participants, only 8% said it would help them to cope “a lot”. |
| Kalman et al. (unpublished) | A questionnaire study of 130 smokers in residential SUD treatment for alcohol problems. Subjects were enrolled in a smoking cessation clinical trial. One week following their quit day, subjects were asked to report on the effect of quitting smoking on their effort to abstain from alcohol. |
5% of subjects said that quitting smoking made trying to abstain from alcohol a “little more difficult;” none said it made trying to abstain "a lot more difficult;" The reamining subjects said either that quitting made abstaining from alcohol either a little or a lot easier (45%) or that it had no effect (50%). |
| Studies of the effect of smoking deprivation on urges to drink | ||
| Cooney et al. (2003) | 40 alcohol-dependent, heavy smokers in SUD treatment for alcohol problems (mean number of days of abstinence was 16.8). Subjects participated in two laboratory sessions: one following 34 hours of smoking deprivation.and one following ad libitum smoking. In both sessions, subjects were exposed to alcohol and neutral (water) cues. |
Urge to drink was not affected by nicotine deprivation during alcohol cue exposure. |
| Colby et al. (2004) | College-age moderate to heavy drinking smokers participated in two laboratory sessions: one following 5 hours of smoking deprivation.and one following ad libitum smoking. In both sessions, subjects were exposed to alcohol and neutral (water) cues. |
Subjects did not report any increase in urge to drink or psycho-physiological reactions (i.e., salivation, heart rate) during alcohol cue exposure vs. exposure to a neutral (water) cue. Smoking deprivation did not influence the amount of alcohol consumed immediately following the cue reactivity procedure. |
| Cooney et al. (2007) | 102 subjects participated iin smoking cessation treatment in a SUD program and provided EMA data for 14 days following discharge from the program. Subjects recorded their urge to drink immediately prior to smoking, 5 minutes after the onset of smoking, and at random prompts. |
Frequency of drinking urges among smoking abstinent participants did not differ from those who returned to smoking following concurrent alcohol and tobacco treatment; smoking modestly increased urge to drink |
| Palfai et al. (2000) | In a 2 × 2 factorial design, 56 nontreatment- seeking moderate to heavy drinking smokers participated in one of four conditions: (1) exposure to smoking cues following 6 hours of smoking deprivation; (2) exposure to smoking cues following ad libitum smoking; (3) exposure to neutral cues following 6 hours of smoking deprivation; (4) exposure to neutral cues following 6 hours of smoking deprivation. |
Smoking deprivation significantly increased urge to drink and alcohol consumption. Alcohol expectancies partially mediated the relationship between smoking deprivation and alcohol consumption. Cue exposure condition did not affect results. |
Note. AOD = alcohol and other drug use. EMA = ecological momentary assessment. SUD = substance use disorder.