Characterizing smoking, cessation services, and quit interest across outpatient substance abuse treatment modalities.

The majority of individuals seeking treatment for substance use disorders are cigarette smokers, yet smoking cessation is rarely addressed during treatment. Conducting a detailed smoking-related characterization of substance abuse treatment patients across treatment modalities may facilitate the development of tailored treatment strategies. This CTN platform study, funded in part by the Mid-Atlantic Node, administered a battery of self-report instruments to compare tobacco use, quit attempts, smoking knowledge and attitudes, program services, and interest in quitting among smoking patients enrolled in opioid replacement therapy (ORT) versus non-opioid replacement (non-ORT). ORT compared with non-ORT participants smoked more heavily, had greater tobacco dependence, and endorsed greater exposure to smoking cessation services at their treatment programs. Favorable attitudes towards cessation during treatment were found within both groups. These data identify several potential clinical targets, most notably including confidence in abstaining and attitudes toward cessation pharmacotherapies that may be addressed by substance abuse treatment clinics. Tailored program interventions across treatment modalities may include increased access to cessation products for ORT, while non-ORT services may need to focus on motivation and educational information to promote interest and sampling of cessation products.