| Increased health risks and mortality rates, and evidence for greater drug or alcohol addiction severity, have been associated with smoking by persons who abuse other substances. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of participation in a tobacco cessation group within an inpatient substance abuse treatment program on abstinence rates from tobacco, drugs and alcohol as indicated by urine drug screens, breathalyzer readings, and self-report. Veterans (N=137) with a tobacco use disorder enrolled in inpatient substance abuse treatment at the Salem Veterans Affairs Medical Center participated in tobacco cessation education as part of their substance abuse treatment programming. Use of tobacco, drugs and/or alcohol was evaluated upon admission, two weeks following admission, at discharge and one month following graduation. At the one month follow-up, assessments with 97 Veterans were conducted. Of those 97 Veterans, 90.7% (n=88) abstained from alcohol and 91.8% (n=89) abstained from other drugs of abuse. Of those abstaining from alcohol and drugs, 14.4% (n=14) were abstinent from tobacco.;Keywords: smoking cessation, nicotine dependence, mental illness, substance abuse, veteran, nursing research. |
