Smoking status and substance use treatment outcomes among Spanish speakers enrolled in substance abuse treatment.
Smoking is highly prevalent among individuals with drug and alcohol disorders. Concurrent tobacco dependence treatment during substance use disorder (SUD) treatment is supported yet the association between SUD treatment outcomes and smoking status has been understudied in minorities, including Latinos. Participants in this study were 322 Spanish-speaking Latinos enrolled in a substance use disorder treatment study in five U.S. cities, NIDA Clinical Trials Network protocol CTN-0021 (“Motivational Enhancement Treatment to Improve Treatment Engagement and Outcome for Spanish-Speaking Individuals Seeking Treatment for Substance Abuse”). Logistic regression examined associations between baseline smoking status and treatment outcomes for nontobacco substance use at follow-up. Covariates included age, gender, level of education, marital status, treatment group, and mandated treatment status.
Results indicated being a smoker during the first month of substance use treatment is associated with a significant increase in the odds of substance use relapse at follow-up. Smokers had a reduced likelihood of abstinence for all nontobacco substances and their primary drug of use.
Conclusions: The current study provides further evidence for the association between smoking status and substance use treatment outcomes. Findings contribute to the growing literature indicating a possible beneficial effect of smoking cessation services on SUD treatment, specifically among Latinos. They could, in fact, serve as a rationale for a conceptual shift with respect to how smoking is perceived and managed during SUD treatment; instead of seeing smoking as a comorbid “addiction,” a more progressive view might see it as conceptually inseparable from the full range of psychosocial factors, including other substance use and mental health conditions. Further research is needed to identify ideal smoking cessation treatments for Latinos.
Related protocols: CTN-0021