Skip Navigation



Nicotine & Tobacco Research Advance Access published online on April 24, 2009
Nicotine & Tobacco Research, doi:10.1093/ntr/ntp050
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Article Summary
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
11/6/685    most recent
ntp050v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Stapleton, J. A.
Right arrow Articles by Sutherland, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Stapleton, J. A.
Right arrow Articles by Sutherland, G.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Illicit drug use as a predictor of smoking cessation treatment outcome

John A. Stapleton, Francis Keaney and Gay Sutherland

John A Stapleton, M.Sc., Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Health Behaviour Research Centre, University College London, London, UK and Department of Psychiatry, Kings College London—Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK
Francis Keaney, M.R.C.Psych., Department of Psychiatry, Kings College London—Institute of Psychiatry, and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
Gay Sutherland, M.Phil., Department of Psychiatry, Kings College London—Institute of Psychiatry, and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

Corresponding Author: John A. Stapleton, M.Sc., Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Health Behaviour Research Centre, University College London, 2, 16 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK. Telephone: +0207-848-0450; E-mail: j.stapleton{at}ucl.ac.uk, john.stapleton{at}iop.kcl.ac.uk


  Abstract

Introduction: Evidence from cross-sectional survey data suggests a negative association between illicit drug use and smoking cessation. In a prospective clinical cohort, we examined whether illicit drug users were less successful than other smokers when making an attempt to stop smoking.

Methods: A total of 100 smokers attending a tobacco dependence clinic were studied. Pretreatment questionnaire measures of illicit drug use, demographics, health history, and tobacco smoking were taken. Treatment consisted of seven weekly behavioral support sessions plus nicotine replacement therapy or bupropion. Short-term outcome was assessed at the end of the treatment by self-report and carbon monoxide (CO) verification.

Results: A total of 24 smokers (24%) had used illicit drugs during the previous 30 days. Drug users were less likely to stop smoking than were nonusers. The difference in CO-verified success rates was 26.1% (29.2% vs. 55.3%, 95% CI = 4.8%–47.4%), and the odds ratio was 0.33 (95% CI = 0.12–0.89). Adjustment for group differences on all the measured background and treatment characteristics affected this result only marginally.

Discussion: Illicit drug use appears to have a significant detrimental effect on the success of an attempt to stop smoking. This effect is not explained by differences between drug users and nonusers on established prognostic factors. These first results in a prospective sample support findings from a large U.S. population survey of smoking cessation rates in drug users and nonusers. If these results are corroborated, clinicians treating smokers should consider developing new protocols to improve outcomes in smokers using illicit drugs.

Received: April 22, 2008; Accepted: January 31, 2009
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.