New Approaches to Tobacco Smoking Cessation Among People Who Use Drugs

Most people with opioid use disorder also smoke tobacco, with higher smoking rates than the general population. Tobacco-related diseases pose a greater risk than drug use, leading to over half of substance use disorder patients dying from such illnesses. Quitting smoking is challenging for this group. Tobacco harm reduction, like switching to e-cigarettes, is not widely embraced by healthcare providers. However, some practitioners now integrate patient-centered tobacco harm reduction strategies in their work with drug users. They discuss reduced-risk nicotine products, deciding when to introduce harm reduction, and how patients respond to these approaches.