Evaluating an Innovative Tobacco Treatment Approach for Veterans in Substance Use Treatment

Evaluating an Innovative Tobacco Treatment Approach for Veterans in Substance Use Disorder Treatment

Veterans with substance use disorders smoke at extraordinarily high rates and have high rates of smoking-related death and disease. It is essential to provide tobacco treatment for Veterans with substance use disorders, but there are unfortunately low rates of smoking treatment engagement within the VA for those with substance use disorders. The goal of this project is to generate preliminary evidence for a smoking intervention program called "Concurrent Substance and Tobacco Outpatient Program" or Co-STOP. Co-STOP aims to increase tobacco treatment use and effectiveness for Veterans in outpatient substance use treatment. We hypothesize that Co-STOP, relative to standard tobacco treatment, will increase tobacco treatment use and quit attempts. This research will help the VA develop effective strategies to promote smoking treatment use and abstinence in Veterans with substance use disorders who smoke, thereby improving rates of morbidity and mortality in Veterans with substance use disorders.

This project will generate knowledge about strategies to increase smoking treatment engagement in Veterans with substance use disorders, a group that suffers disproportionately from smoking-related disease and death. This project will This project will evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of the Co-STOP program relative to standard cessation treatment offered at the VA. Co-STOP is an intervention designed to make tobacco treatment part of routine care for Veterans in substance use treatment and thereby enhance tobacco treatment use and quit attempts. Co-STOP offers evidence-based counseling and nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation as well as smoking reduction or changes if Veterans are not willing to quit. In Co-STOP, treatment is provided unless the Veteran declines, and makes tobacco treatment the default during substance use treatment. It is expected that Enhanced Chronic Care will increase treatment use and smoking abstinence relative to Standard Care.

This project will randomize N=112 Veterans receiving VA outpatient SUD care who smoke daily in a 1:1 ratio to Co-STOP or SC in a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT). Co-STOP participants will be informed that they will be provided with evidence-based smoking treatment, which does not require a commitment to quit, as part of their SUD care, unless they opt-out. Co-STOP participants who do not opt out will receive 4 months of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and five behavioral counseling calls to support making 'healthy changes' or quitting smoking. SC participants will be offered entry into standard VA cessation treatment. Outcomes will be assessed over 4-months post-study entry. We hypothesize that relative to SC, Co-STOP will increase smoking treatment use (i.e., use of NRT + counseling) and the likelihood of making a quit attempt.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Smoke at least one cigarette per day
• Be engaged in VA outpatient substance use treatment for at least one month
• Be medically eligible to use Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)
• Not currently receiving smoking treatment
• Not currently at high risk for suicide
• Have an email address

Exclusion Criteria:

• Unable to give informed, voluntary consent to participate
• Incarceration