Everyone seems to smoke these days. Perhaps that is only based on who you associate with, but there are more opportunities than ever to smoke in various ways. It may seem some even revolve their lives around the next cigarette or e-cigarette. Find out why smoking seems associated with addiction and how to find help if smoking has become a crossover addiction.

Smoking and Recovery

People in rehab have higher than average rates of cigarette use for many reasons. The higher rates negatively affect substance abuse treatment success. Some of the studies look like this:

  • Study 1: research discovered smoking rates among people in treatment facilities was high, in spite of national declines in nicotine use. Nearly 40 percent of people smoke within the United States in 1965, while only just under 18 percent reported smoking by 2013.
  • Smoking rates remain high for people with other addictions as a sort of crossover addiction. This increases the risk for people to develop disease of the heart, lungs, and other parts of the body including lowering their overall mortality rate in spite of abstinence from other substances.
  • Nearly one million Americans in AA were smokers, making up almost 56% of attendees. Among this group, nearly 80% smoked at least half a pack a day and more than 60 percent considered themselves highly dependent on cigarettes.

Risks of Smoking

Smoking is something people do whether or not they have addiction to other substances. Sometimes it is a way to alleviate stress, anxiety, or something else. These results should cause concern, since smoking can lead people to return to substance use by triggering chemicals in the brain. Quitting smoking is recommended when participating in a treatment program but people often want to quit and find barriers to do so.

Finding smoking cessation programs and support for nicotine addiction is key to supporting long term addiction, especially in light of wrestling with other types of addiction. It is important to find a way of embracing addiction recovery holistically so that you can live out your sobriety feeling healthy and overall focusing on your well-being. When you are able to focus on what helps you stay healthy overall, you are more likely to maintain sobriety and keep your focus on recovery goals. With the right accountability and support from loved ones you can thrive in recovery.

The Springboard Center’s addiction treatment programs are tailored to meet the needs of each client. By utilizing a set of diverse methods of addiction treatment, we are able to deal with your addiction from all angles and concentrate on every aspect of your healing process. It is important to recognize that many of our services offer a group setting and environment, so that the client spends time with other people affected by the same chronic disease and problems. 432-620-0255