Smokers have harder time staying of drugs after rehab

Philip Copitch, Ph.D. – Author of Change: How to bring real change to your life: The psychology and secrets of highly effective people

Researchers at the department of epidemiology at Columbia University's School of Public Health looked at just under 35,000 adults enrolled in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

The data showed the following relapse rates:

• 11% Smokers at the start of treatment, and continued to smoke during treatment.
• 8% Individual that quit smoking during treatment
• 6.5% Non smokers

The study authors point to the importance of adding tobacco treatment along side illicit drug treatment. 

"Quitting smoking will improve anyone's health," says lead author Andrea Weinberger, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. "But our study shows that giving up cigarettes may be even more important for adults in recovery from illicit substance use disorders since it may help them stay sober.”

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Can antibiotics effect mental status?

Philip Copitch, Ph.D. – Author of Change: How to bring real change to your life: The psychology and secrets of highly effective people

An interesting report crossed my desk today. It was published in MedScape Psychiatry.

Antibiotics and Mental Status Changes

All medication can potentially change your mental status, the way you think, feel, or react. In this article, pharmacists from Albany Medical Hospital, Albany NY review this question.

They point out:

Any change in mental status should always prompt a review of medications as a potential contributing factor. Antimicrobials, a drug class that is an often-overlooked etiology, have been associated with a wide range of neurologic symptoms, including sedation, sleep disturbance, confusion, delirium, seizures, mood changes, psychosis, and hallucinations.

A chart of drugs and risk factors is included.

Read the report