Combination Treatment for Smokers With Heavy Drinking Habits

Combination treatment may be effective for treating smokers who drink heavily as per a new study at the University of Chicago Medical Center, published in JAMA Network Open. Nearly one in five smokers are found to also drink heavily. However, they show worse outcomes than non-heavy drinkers in quitting smoking and are often excluded from smoking cessation trials.

Considering these challenges, the present study sought to find a treatment that could help smokers to quit, particularly those who would describe themselves as heavy drinkers.

The study results showed that the combination treatment of nicotine replacement and varenicline was more effective for smoking cessation, with 44.3% of participants abstaining from smoking through the last weeks of the study.

“More alcoholics die of tobacco-related diseases than they do of alcohol-related diseases. So, addressing both addictions should be something that is part of the conversation early in treatment. That way we can better figure out how to make treatment efficient and sustainable.” “It’s so important to identify those effective treatment combinations and be able to tell patients what works and help them along this important journey,” says Andrea King, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago.

Source-Medindia