Targeting nicotine addiction in a substance abuse program.
The potential benefits of addressing nicotine addiction as part of substance dependency treatment may include improved response to interventions for other addictions and, over the long term, reduced tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. The authors recount the experiences of three inpatient programs that instituted nicotine addiction interventions and a tobacco-free policy for both facilities and patients. After making adjustments to counter temporary adverse effects of the policy, two of the programs are achieving higher overall treatment completion rates than prior to implementation. Outstanding research issues include quantifying the costs and benefits of the antinicotine interventions, determining the long-term impact of tobacco-free treatment, and tailoring treatment to various patient groups.
Van Dyke Addiction Treatment Center, Ovid, New York 14521, USA. JimSharp@oasas.state.ny.us
James R
JR
Sharp
Steven
S
Schwartz
Thomas
T
Nightingale
Steven
S
Novak
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009518:New York; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D016730:Program Development; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000628:therapy