Can smoking lead to alcoholism that would then...

[ada de]

...cause the person to need substance abuse treatment? It has come to my attention that a lot of smokers I know also happen to be heavy drinkers. I was just wondering whether the two habits are really connected. Will undergoing treatment for alcohol abuse also get rid of the person's smoking habit?

[anya w]

Smoking and alcohol consumption are indeed interrelated. A person's consumption of nicotine increases his craving for alcohol and alcohol boosts the effects of smoking. This explains why a lot of smokers happen to be drinkers too. Also, if the person is really dependent upon cigarettes and alcohol, then substance abuse treatment is definitely needed. However, the treatment of just alcoholism will not banish a person's smoking habit. It would be better to treat both conditions simultaneously.

www.yale.edu (http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/07-04-18-01.all.htmlhttp://www.addictionsearch.com)

[bluff mike]

Some AA meetings are as smoky as the bars that the people hung out in, so, no, treating alcoholism doesn't automatically treat nicotine addiction. Alcoholic drinkers aren't all tobacco users, either.

[hailfeal]

i'm a smoker and i hardly drink. when i do go out, all my non-smoker friends bum smokes off me. people who drink smoke. it just goes with the territory. i don't believe that smoking leads to alcoholism or drug abuse though even after reading those articles the first guy posted. i just know too many smokers that are clean of drugs and alcohol.