Beliefs about tobacco policies at substance abuse centers: Does smoking status influence acceptance?

Research shows that smoking cessation interventions during addiction treatment enhance chances of patients' sobriety; however, many treatment facilities have not adopted anti-smoking policies and continue to discredit smoking cessation treatments. This study examines tobacco use among program administrators and the influence of use on beliefs about anti-smoking policies. Data were collected using online surveys administered August 2012-January 2013 to 780 program administrators from randomly selected substance abuse treatment facilities across the nation. The study asked program administrators who had smoked more than 100 cigarettes in their lifetimes about current smoking status. Among program administrators identified as ever-smokers, 57.6% were ex-smokers, 7.3% were once in a while smokers, 8.9% were regular smokers, and 26.2% were non-smokers. Regular smokers were significantly more likely to disagree or strongly disagree that substance abuse facilities should have a no smoking policy for patients, visitors and employees (p=.000). Ex-smokers, non-smokers, and once in a while smokers were significantly more likely to support smoking bans at substance abuse facilities for patients, visitors and employees (p=.000). Overall, program administrators who did not self-identify as regular smokers were in favor of smoking bans for all persons at substance abuse facilities. Universal smoking bans have been shown to enhance chances of patients' sobriety. Because this study found that regular smokers were outnumbered by a ratio of 10 to 1 by ex-smokers, non-smokers and once in a while smokers, more research must be done to determine why more treatment facilities have not adopted smoking bans.