An Opt-out Tobacco Treatment Group Intervention Within an Intensive Substance Use Disorders Treatment Program: Initial Outcomes in the Veterans Health Administration

• Published in: Nicotine & tobacco research 2024-12, Vol.27 (1), p.12-17
• Main Authors: Bertucci, Stephanie, Schultz, Erica, Stevenson, Brittany, Fu, Steven S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Smoking Cessation - methods; Substance-Related Disorders - therapy; Tobacco Use Disorder - therapy; Treatment Outcome; United States; United States Department of Veterans Affairs; Veterans - psychology; Veterans - statistics & numerical data
• ISSN: 1469-994X; 1469-994X
• DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntae134

Despite steadily declining rates of tobacco use in the United States, individuals suffering from substance use disorders (SUD) and other mental illnesses continue to use tobacco at alarmingly high rates, resulting in increased mortality. Given the synergistic consequences to those who suffer from both tobacco use disorders (TUD) and other SUD, embedding tobacco treatment into structured SUD programs using an opt-out approach may yield a greater impact. The current study compares clinical outcomes (ie, quit attempts and prescription of tobacco cessation medications) for an opt-out versus opt-in approach to tobacco treatment. Tobacco use information was collected prior to and after implementation of an opt-out, eight-session, tobacco group treatment intervention. Patient self-report and medical chart review were utilized to identify individuals who began a tobacco cessation medication during treatment as well as those who reported quitting tobacco, defined as sustained tobacco abstinence for at least 7 days. The analysis includes a total of N = 332 Veterans who enrolled in the intensive outpatient program. Those enrolled in the opt-out tobacco treatment group reported a significantly higher rate of quitting tobacco (24.57%) than those in the opt-in group (2.55%; p