WEDNESDAY, Aug. 20, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Quitting smoking is associated with recovery from substance use disorder (SUD), according to a study published online Aug. 13 in JAMA Psychiatry.
Michael J. Parks, Ph.D., from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues conducted a longitudinal survey cohort study to assess whether changes in cigarette smoking predict SUD recovery over time. The analysis included 2,652 adults with a history of SUD participating in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study (2013 to 2014 with follow-up through 2016 to 2018).
The researchers found that within-person change from current to former smoking was positively associated with SUD recovery, with year-to-year change to former cigarette use associated with a 30 percent increase in odds of recovery when accounting for time-varying covariates and between-person differences. After lagging the predictor by one year, this association remained significant (odds ratio, 1.43; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.00 to 2.05). Similar results were seen in a second cohort assessed from 2016-2018 to 2022-2023 (odds ratio, 1.37; 95 percent CI, 1.13 to 1.66).
"Although the health benefits of quitting smoking are well-known, smoking cessation has not been seen as a high priority in drug addiction treatment programs," senior author, Wilson Compton, M.D., also from the National Institutes of Health, said in a statement. "This finding bolsters support for including smoking cessation as part of addiction treatment."
One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.