How do substance abuse counselors treat smoking addiction in drug or alcohol addicted patients?

Research has shown that the prevalence of smoking among patients seeking treatment at substance abuse treatment facilities is between 70-95%. Although some patients may be interested in quitting smoking, many facilities do not encourage smoking cessation during their substance abuse treatment. The purpose of this study is to examine the pharmacological and behavioral treatments for smoking cessation at these facilities. Data was collected using web-based surveys administered to 1054 substance abuse counselors from over 1000 treatment facilities across the United States. These facilities were randomly selected from the SAMHSA database. Counselors reported that facilities offer treatment for nicotine in the forms of the patch (41%), gum (25.7%), lozenge (15.8%), inhaler (5.7%), and nasal spray (3.9%). Additionally, 31.7% had Bupropion SR available, Varenicline (21.1%), Clonidine (13.9%), and Nortriptyline (7.5%). There are also a number of behavioral treatments for smoking cessation. While 85.5% of counselors ask if patients currently smoke, only 45.6% advise patients to quit smoking, 62.5% assess patient willingness to quit, and 44.8% assist in quitting by developing a quit plan or arranging for counseling for smoking cessation. Additionally, 64.4% of these facilities provide self-help materials and 69.4% have additional community resource referrals for smoking cessation. In terms of individual counseling, 63.5% offer individual counseling that focuses on social support and 71.8% provide individual counseling that focuses on problem solving/skills training. It is important to examine these pharmacological and behavioral treatments so that we can better document recovery rates and how they can be influenced.