Aims of the present investigation were: (i) to assess the prevalence of current
smokers and relative smoking status among a large number of heroin addicts attending
opioid-substitution therapy prevalence; (ii) to evaluate the relationship between the type
(methadone, buprenorphine) and dosage of opioid substitution therapy and nicotine
dependence. Three hundred and five (305) heroin addicts under opioid-substitution therapy
were recruited at five Addiction Units. All participants completed a questionnaire assessing
sociodemographic information, type and dose of opioid-substitution therapy, smoking
history and status, Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), and the Zung
Self-Rating Depression scale (SDS). 298 subjects, out of 305 (97.2%) were smokers, with
an average of 20.5 cigarette/day and a median FTND of 6. Our data confirmed the high
prevalence of smokers among heroin addicts, the highest described in the literature to date
among heroin addicts under substitution therapies, without any significant difference
between methadone vs. buprenorphine therapy groups. There was no correlation between
dose of methadone or buprenorphine and average number of cigarettes/day. Patients in
substance abuse treatment very frequently smoke cigarettes and often die of tobacco-related
diseases. Substance abuse treatment programs too often ignore tobacco use. We hope that
these findings will help to incorporate smoking cessation in substance abuse treatments
Pajusco, Benedetta; Chiamulera, Cristiano; Quaglio, Gianluca; Moro, Lorenza; Casari, Rebecca; Amen, Gabriella; Faccini, Marco; Lugoboni, Fabio,
Tobacco Addiction and Smoking Status in Heroin Addicts under Methadone vs. Buprenorphine Therapy«INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH»
, vol. 9
, n. 3
, 2012
, pp. 932-942