Overview

• A JAMA Psychiatry study of 2,652 U.S. adults with prior substance use disorders found that switching from current to former smoking was associated with a 30% increase in odds of sustained remission (OR 1.30).
• The smoking–recovery link remained significant in a one-year lagged analysis (OR 1.43) and in a second nationally representative PATH cohort (OR 1.37), confirming the robustness of the finding.
• Federal health leaders are calling for addiction services to routinely offer smoking cessation to capitalize on its connection to improved recovery from alcohol or drug addiction.
• Authors emphasize the need for causal, mechanistic, and implementation studies to confirm these observational findings and guide clinical integration.
• Despite smoking rates exceeding one-third among adults with substance use disorders, many treatment programs lack tobacco interventions even though effective cessation supports are available.