The Role of Chronic Pain in Smoking Cessation: Results From a Large Smoking Cessation Program in Primary Care

The findings of this study suggest that primary care patients with a self-reported chronic pain diagnosis experience significantly worse smoking cessation outcomes following treatment with nicotine replacement therapy, and that opioid use is also independently associated with poorer quit outcomes. These associations were still significant after controlling for important potential confounding factors such as cannabis and alcohol use, heaviness of smoking, psychiatric comorbidity, and confidence in quitting. Further work is needed to establish whether addressing smoking cessation and pain management together may improve smoking cessation outcomes and reduce the burden of smoking-related health issues in this population.