Does cessation of smoking cause a change in alcohol consumption? Evidence from the Lung Health Study.
Although use of cigarettes and alcohol is positively related, there is a lack of evidence whether changes in smoking are followed by changes in drinking. The Lung Health Study recruited 5,887 adult smokers and randomized 2/3 to a smoking cessation intervention and 1/3 to a control group. "Heavy drinkers" were excluded from the sample. After a year in the study, 42% of the intervention participants reported that they had stopped smoking, compared to 11% of the controls. There was no corresponding difference between intervention and control participants in the use of alcohol after one year, although the study provided a high level of power to detect such a difference.
Murray
R P
RP
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Canada.
Istvan
J A
JA
Voelker
H T
HT
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*