Does smoking intervention influence adolescent substance use disorder treatment outcomes?

Although tobacco use is reported by the majority of substance use disordered (SUD) youth, little work has examined tobacco focused interventions with this population. The present study is an initial investigation of the effect of a tobacco use intervention on adolescent SUD treatment outcomes. Participants were adolescents in SUD treatment taking part in a cigarette smoking intervention efficacy study, assessed at baseline and followed up at 3- and 6-months post-intervention. Analyses compared treatment and control groups on days using alcohol and drugs and proportion abstinent from substance use at follow up assessments. Adolescents in the treatment condition reported significantly fewer days of substance use and were somewhat more likely to be abstinent at 3-month follow up. These findings suggest that tobacco focused intervention may enhance SUD treatment outcome. The present study provides further evidence for the value of addressing tobacco use in the context of treatment for adolescent SUD's.