Stop Drinking Now ... Quiting Smoking Will Help You Stay Sober

People who are addicted to alcohol are also likely to smoke cigarettes. According to the June 2008 issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter many experts feel that it's important to counsel alcohol-dependent individuals to quit smoking as well as drinking not just to improve their health, but also to increase their chances of staying sober.

It is a widespread fear that attempting to quit smoking and drinking simultaneously will undermine treatment for alcohol dependence.

Nevertheless, most studies have found that efforts to stop smoking either have zero impact on sustaining sobriety or in reality increase the chances for success of alcohol treatment.

There are no smoking cessation guidelines specifically for alcohol-dependent adults. For now, the best option is to follow the federal guidelines for treating tobacco dependence, which recommend a combination of counseling and medication.

A major, and still unresolved, problem is whether it's better to tackle one addiction at a time or whether it's better to give up smoking and drinking together.

Researchers have found that when smoking cessation support was delayed by six months, study participants were more likely to remain sober compared with those who received concurrent treatment for both addictions. But a follow-up analysis found that this may have been true only for white people in the study.

Dr. Michael Miller, editor in chief of the Harvard Mental Health Letter, observes that no single approach is best for every person struggling with both alcohol and nicotine addiction. Whether an individual quits smoking during alcohol treatment or later, it's a net health gain.