The suspected association between methamphetamine ('ice') smoking and frequent episodes of alcohol intoxication: data from the 1993 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.

This study estimates the strength of association between frequent episodes of alcohol intoxication and recent smoking of methamphetamine ('ice'). Drawn from the 1993 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, a total of 101 ice smokers were matched on neighborhood of residence to 816 non-smokers. Based upon conditional logistic regression analyses, persons with daily episodes of alcohol intoxication were an estimated five times more likely to have smoked ice, as compared with non-drinkers or drinkers with little or no history of alcohol intoxication. This estimate includes statistical adjustment for potential confounders (e.g. age, sex) and was statistically significant (P=0.01). The association between frequent alcohol intoxication and 'ice smoking' offers an intriguing lead for a broad range of new research.