Should I try to quit drinking and smoking at the same time?

Using leads to drinking and drinking leads to using. And while we all know many recovering alcoholics who smoke and smoke-filled AA meetings, the theory of quitting both to strengthen the abstinence with both makes sense to me. Almost 85 percent of people who are in alcohol recovery smoke, compared with harmful use of alcohol 25 percent of the general public. Smokers in alcohol recovery may be more addicted to nicotine than smokers who don’t have a history of alcohol abuse. People in alcohol recovery often smoke more than smokers in the general public. These medications can help with withdrawal symptoms and relapse.

Hinds MW, Thomas DB, O’Reilly HP. Asbestos, dental x-rays, tobacco and alcohol in the epidemiology of laryngeal cancer. Cut out a few of your favorite cigarettes during the day. Learn more about Tempest’s unique approach to alcohol recovery. The benefits of meditation are widely documented and seemingly endless.

Why “Am I an Alcoholic?” Is the Wrong Question

Your body is addicted to nicotine, so it feels better with the drug than without it. But remember that you, like all other people, will always be under some kind of stress. Waiting to be stress-free before trying to quit smoking may just be an excuse for not facing your nicotine addiction. By focusing on smokers who also drink heavily, this study not only showed that combination treatment could help the participants to quit smoking, it also showed that addressing smoking could have secondary effects on their drinking. It may seem like an immense challenge to confront dual problems with alcohol and smoking, but you’ve already cleared the first hurdle by making a commitment to yourself to quit both.

They say that there is evidence that quitting smoking at the same time as you quit drinking improves your chances of not relapsing. Plan ahead of time and practice how you’ll handle difficult situations, such as being around friends and family members who smoke, managing stressful situations and coping with negative feelings like anger, sadness and anxiety. People who have been in treatment for alcohol problems are more likely to die from tobacco-related diseases than from alcohol-related problems.

While tobacco withdrawal can be unpleasant on both body and emotions, alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous. Severity of alcohol withdrawal symptoms varies by how much you drink, for how long, and your condition of health. Studies performed on rats show that smoking and drinking simultaneously can increase neural damage in particular brain regions. Connect with other people.Being in touch or talking with others every day can help your mood. Try to connect with people who are supportive of your efforts to quit smoking.

Having a hard time concentrating

Developing effective methods for treating addictions to nicotine and alcohol together could lead to better health outcomes. While participants were not directly told to reduce their drinking, they were asked about their drinking in surveys throughout the study. Talking about your efforts in a supportive environment with people who drinking before bed won’t help you sleep better share similar experiences can make all the difference in your attempts to quit. Addiction can coexist or contribute to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder. Together with therapy, prescription medications may treat concurrent psychiatric disorders that contribute to addiction.

Recovery should be about experiencing freedom, and quitting alcohol and tobacco together means a deeper sense of personal freedom and a commitment to living addiction-free. You can also find support in formalized settings, like clinical counseling sessions. However, Dr. Damaris J. Rohsenow from the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University has a different outlook. Dr. Rohsenow is a research professor who has conducted clinical trials on drinking and smoking, and on smoking among people with alcohol or drug use disorders for about 25 years. Burling AS, Burling TA. A comparison of self-report measures of nicotine dependence among male drug/alcohol-dependent cigarette smokers.

Saxon AJ, McGuffin R, Walker RD. An open trial of transdermal nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation among alcohol- and drug-dependent inpatients. It’s true, only you can decide when to quit smoking. Just remember, continuing to smoke when you’re sober can increase your craving for alcohol if you used to smoke and drink together. Addiction experts strongly encourage recovering alcoholics who smoke to treat their smoking like any other addiction—and get help to quit.

Myths and Data Related to Smoking Cessation and Alcohol Abstinence

Medication may be prescribed to treat and monitor psychiatric disorders while in treatment. For some people, smoking may seem like it helps with anxiety or depression, but don’t be tricked. Smoking might make you feel better in the short-term, but that’s because the nicotine in cigarettes stops the discomfort of withdrawal,notbecause it is helping with anxiety or depression. There are much better ways to deal with withdrawal symptoms and mood changes than returning to smoking! The good news is that once people have been smoke-free for a few months, their anxiety and depression levels are often lower than when they were smoking. King and her colleagues were surprised to find that participants from both groups in the study also reduced their rates of drinking.

Reach out to smoke-free groups, such as smoke-free Alcoholics Anonymous and other support groups, like Nicotine Anonymous. Developing calming techniques and self-soothing practices and rituals, like morning meditation and a hot shower before bed, can help deter a potential stress-induced relapse. Apps like Headspace, Calm, and 10% Happier are great for a beginning meditator.

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Cancers of the head and neck are special problems in people with a history of heavy drinking and smoking. This article was co-authored by Trudi Griffin, LPC, MS. Trudi Griffin is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Wisconsin specializing in Addictions and Mental Health. She provides therapy to people who struggle with addictions, mental health, and trauma in community health settings and private practice. She received her MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Marquette University in 2011. Being near places where smoking and drinking are encouraged can be dangerous when you are trying to quit.

Don’t go into such a big lifestyle change blindly. Catherine Costantino, an alcohol and smoking cessation researcher with over 15 years of experience in the field recommends setting a specific “Quit Date” and sticking to it. It’s common to have some trouble sleeping when you first the 6 stages of change in addiction recovery quit smoking. This will get better, but if it is bothering you, talk with your healthcare provider to get help. If you become exhausted from poor sleep, this can make it harder to stay quit. Sullivan MA, Covey LS. Current perspectives on smoking cessation among substance abusers.

• Everyone needs some vices in life – just make them healthier ones overall.
• Why would you have tried to give it up if you didn’t want to stop, even if it was only a part of you?
• Knowing how challenging it can be to quit smoking, Prof. Andrea King wanted to find a treatment that could help smokers to quit—particularly those who would describe themselves as heavy drinkers.
• York JL, Hirsch JA. Drinking patterns and health status in smoking and nonsmoking alcoholics.

If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page. Go to sleep and wake up around the same time each day, even on weekends. Don’t eat a heavy meal or drink alcohol right before bed. You may notice that it is harder to concentrate in the first days after you quit—this is very common. Mortality following inpatient addictions treatment.

Instead, “climb back on the wagon” and start again. Avoid parties and social events that involve smoking or alcohol. If you are a long-term and heavy drinker, consider a medically supervised detox.

For people with a history of substance use, it’s common to experience withdrawal symptoms when trying to quit. Common alcohol withdrawal symptoms include nausea, sweating, shaking, and other symptoms; rarer and more life-threatening symptoms include seizures and extremely high heart rate and blood pressure. Unlike alcohol, quitting smoking poses no significant health risks, and in fact offers immediate health benefits. Within hours after quitting tobacco, the heart rate and the carbon monoxide in the bloodstream return to their usual level. However, quitting tobacco may also come with uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms, such as strong cravings, insomnia, and mood changes.

Research indicates that approximately 80 percent of people with alcoholism smoke cigarettes and that most of these smokers are nicotine dependent . Conversely, smokers are at two to three times greater risk for alcohol dependence than nonsmokers . One in five people who smoke also drink heavily, but they show worse outcomes than non-heavy drinkers in quitting smoking and are often excluded from smoking cessation trials.

Explore a future without alcohol.

Targeting nicotine addiction in a substance abuse program. A randomized trial of concurrent versus delayed smoking intervention for patients in alcohol dependence treatment. Friend KB, Pagano ME. Smoking cessation and alcohol consumption in individuals in treatment for alcohol use disorders. Effects of nicotine deprivation on urges to drink and smoke in alcoholic smokers. For three to five days, use a notebook to keep track of when you smoke each cigarette, and what you’re doing and how you’re feeling when you reach for a cigarette.

Think of financial costs alcohol and tobacco cost you. Nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free, evidence-based mental health and wellness resources. Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences.

Efficacy of nicotine patch in smokers with a history of alcoholism. Hughes JR. Treating smokers with current or past alcohol dependence. Drobes DJ. Cue reactivity in alcohol and tobacco dependence. Breslau N. Psychiatric comorbidity of smoking and nicotine dependence. More people with alcoholism die from smoking-related diseases than from alcohol-related illness (Hurt et al. 1996).