Smoking cessation in drug treatment programs

Substance abusers are more likely to smoke cigarettes than the general popu lation. Yet, in most drug treatment programs smoking cessation receives lit tle attention. The purposes of this study were to: (1) examine substance ab use counselors' attitudes toward and practices related to nicotine addictio n and smoking cessation treatment; and (2) describe barriers to smoking ces sation treatment and smoking policies in substance abuse treatment faciliti es. A total of 254 substance abuse counselors in Kentucky completed mailed questionnaires (53% response rate). Almost one-fourth were current smokers. Smoking and nonsmoking counselors differed in their attitudes toward nicot ine addiction, barriers to treatment, and satisfaction with smoking cessati on training. Few counselors routinely followed the clinical preventive guid elines with nicotine-dependent clients. However, they were receptive to pro viding smoking cessation treatment. Over half of the drug treatment program s banned indoor smoking, but permitted smoking on facility grounds. Implica tions for policy change by national addiction certification and licensing o rganizations and state accreditation authorities are discussed.