'Kicking the butt' helps in alcohol addiction recovery

A new study has revealed that smokers with a history of alcohol problems are at a greater risk of relapsing than the non-smokers.

Lead author Renee Goodwin of the Columbia University said that quitting smoking would improve anyone's health, adding their study showed that giving up cigarettes was even more important for adults in recovery from alcohol since it would help them stay sober.

In the study, the researchers followed 34,653 adults with a past alcohol use disorder who were assessed at two time points, three years apart, on substance use, substance use disorders and related physical and mental disorders.

Daily smokers and nondaily smokers had approximately twice the odds of relapsing to alcohol dependence compared with nonsmokers. The relationships held even after controlling for factors, including mood, anxiety, illicit drug use disorders and nicotine dependence.

The study's authors pointed out the behavioral and neurochemical links between smoking and alcohol, and the detrimental effects of smoking on cognition.

The study is published in the Journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.