Most alcoholics or drug addicts have several addictions, and smoking is the most common other addiction by far.

Many alcoholics in recovery do not realize that their cigarette smoking is probably an even greater threat to their health and survival than their drinking was. Did you know that more alcoholics die of diseases related to smoking than of diseases related to drinking? Smoking has also been linked to a long series of health problems, such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis-related hip fractures, in addition to cancer and heart disease.

New studies have shed much light on cross-addiction between nicotine and alcohol. Nicotine increases the craving for alcohol. For many alcoholics, smoking is also a behavioral trigger for drinking, and getting clean from cigarettes is a major step toward reducing cravings for alcohol. Many alcoholics in recovery have successfully quit smoking after they quit drinking. Studies have shown also that alcoholics can quit drinking and smoking at the same time, and modern treatment centers are increasingly based on this principle.

Before the 1930s, treatment of alcoholism and drug addiction commonly also included treatment of nicotine addiction. Smoking was generally viewed as a contributing factor in alcohol and drug relapses. But with the rise of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), concern with smoking as a recovery issue faded into the background. Bill W., the co-founder of AA, was a chain smoker who died of emphysema. Today, the treatment industry and the recovery community are returning to the original positions. Smoking is recognized as a drug addiction on a par with other substance addictions, and is being treated accordingly.

For the recovering alcoholic even more than for the ordinary smoker, kicking cigarettes may be a question of life or death. If you're an alcoholic or drug addict in recovery who wants to quit smoking -- no matter when or how -- this page is a page of support for YOU.