Explanation:
Heavy drinkers tend to be heavy smokers. Drinking appears to prompt smoking in real-life situations; whether smoking prompts drinking is uncertain. Alcohol-tobacco interactions are particularly important during attempts to achieve or maintain abstinence from either drug. Studies suggest that alcoholics who quit smoking are more likely to succeed in alcoholism treatment. However, data consistently demonstrate that alcohol consumption may precipitate smoking relapse.
Alcohol and tobacco seem to go together: Drinkers smoke and smokers drink. In addition, heavier drinkers tend to be heavier smokers. Use of alcohol and tobacco may be related in two ways. First, people who drink may also smoke (and vice versa); this is referred to as the between-person interaction. Second, people who use both drugs may use them together in the same situations. This is referred to as the situational interaction. Between-person and situational relationships are independent of each other: Each can theoretically occur without the other, and each can be explained by different potential mechanisms.
This article briefly reviews the nature of the relationships between drinking and smoking and examines their effect on alcoholism treatment and smoking cessation. Studies on smoking and drinking have been conducted with reference to three stages of drug use: (1) initiation (i.e., initial exposure to and use of a drug), (2) maintenance (i.e., ongoing use of a drug), and (3) cessation (i.e., addiction treatment or efforts to achieve and maintain abstinence). This article considers only the maintenance and cessation stages. Furthermore, it is not an exhaustive review of the literature but rather an illustration of some key issues.
Alcohol-tobacco interactions are prominent in the maintenance phase of addiction. Most smokers (i.e., 86 percent) drink alcohol, and smokers are 1.32 times more likely to drink than are non-smokers (Friedman et al. 1974). This relationship holds for both men and women but is slightly stronger among women.
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