Smoking Tied to Increased Opioid Use

FRIDAY, Oct. 18, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Increased opioid use is seen among adults who smoke cigarettes, according to a study recently published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

William Encinosa, Ph.D., from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and colleagues used the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2013 to 2021) linked to the National Health Interview Survey to estimate the impact of heavy versus light smoking on opioid use, chronic pain, work limitations due to pain, and poor mental health.

Based on 81,400 adults-years, the researchers found that 37 percent of the population had ever smoked, but they used 69 percent of the nation's annual prescription opioids. Adults who smoked more than five cigarettes a day constituted 12 percent of the population but used about the same number of opioids as the those who never smoked (63 percent of the population). Compared with adults who currently smoke, adults who formerly smoked used 16 percent fewer opioids (P < 0.01). During the year, the percent with chronic pain varied from 12.2 percent for adults who never smoked to 14.2 percent for light smoking to 16.5 percent for those smoking more than a pack a day (P < 0.01). Severe pain-related work limitations varied from 7.3 percent for adults who never smoked to 16.9 percent for those smoking more than a pack a day (P < 0.01). Compared with never smokers, adults smoking more than a pack a day were twice as likely to report fair or poor mental health (29.2 versus 13.6 percent; P < 0.01).

“As nations deal with the opioid epidemic, integrating smoking cessation programs into substance abuse treatment programs appears prudent,” the authors write.

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