An Examination of Smoking Cessation Programs in Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities

It is well documented that the prevalence of smoking among individuals seeking treatment for co-occurring substance abuse is between 70-95%; however, little is known about the quality of smoking cessation programs offered alongside substance abuse treatment and the extent to which counselors or treatment staff use evidence-based treatment (EBT) approaches to smoking cessation. This study will examine the current smoking cessation practices at substance abuse treatment facilities across the United States. Data were collected from in-depth telephone interviews administered to 226 program administrators. The substance abuse treatment facilities were randomly selected using the SAMHSA database. Program administrators reported that 81.3% of substance abuse treatment facilities identify smokers at intake, but only 25.6% have a dedicated staff for smoking cessation. In addition, 56.3% of surveyed facilities allow smoking in their program, and 61.9% do not offer EBT for services. It was found that only 30.4% provide counselor training for smoking cessation, 48.2% provide resources to counselors for smoking cessation treatments, 24.2% provide clinical supervision on smoking cessation treatments, and only 5.8% assess smoking cessation treatment in staff performance evaluations. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of the treatment facilities discourage clinical staff from smoking. Despite low numbers of facilities offering smoking cessation programs, 71.6% of program administrators believe that smoking cessation interventions will increase a patient's chance of sobriety. It is important to continue research on changes in service availability in treatment programs so we can identify the organizational and policy factors that predict the availability, implementation, and sustainability of EBTs for smoking.