Recovery rates after treatment for alcohol/drug dependence. Tobacco users vs. non-tobacco users.

Because it has been seen repeatedly that using another addictive drug frequently leads to relapse to using the initial drug of choice, most chemical-dependence treatment specialists recognize the necessity of addressing all drugs of abuse in the same treatment setting. This treatment philosophy, however, does not appear to apply to the drug nicotine. Although a significant number of persons with alcohol/ drug dependence use tobacco on a regular basis, there do not appear to have been any studies conducted on the effect of nicotine use on outcome after treatment for alcohol/drug dependence. In a prospective study, the authors compared 12-month recovery rates after inpatient treatment for alcohol/ drug dependence in tobacco users and non-tobacco users. Significantly better recovery rates were discovered for non-tobacco users than tobacco users, especially if the drug of choice was a sedative, such as alcohol or narcotics. Data presented here support the theory that continued nicotine use may be a relapse factor for resuming alcohol use.