Smoking and Alcoholism

The authors interviewed 57 hospitalized alcoholics and 50 nonhospitalized control subjects to clarify the relationship between alcoholism and cigarette smoking. They found that alcoholics smoked significantly more than nonalcoholics, even when only women subjects were considered. In addition, there was a high positive correlation between the amount alcoholics drank and the amount they smoked. However, when they were abstaining from alcohol consumption, alcoholic subjects did not necessarily smoke more. The authors discuss the implications of these findings both for treatment and for two theoretical models, oral “drive” and susceptibility.