Smokers quitting tobacco also drink less alcohol

In England, people who attempted to stop smoking within the last week reported lower levels of alcohol consumption, were less likely to binge drink, and were more likely to be classified as ‘light drinkers’ (having a low alcohol risk) compared with those who did not attempt to stop smoking.

Lead author Jamie Brown, from University College London, England, said: “These results go against the commonly held view that people who stop smoking tend to drink more to compensate. It’s possible that they are heeding advice to try to avoid alcohol because of its link to relapse.”

Previous research has shown that tobacco dependence and alcohol consumption are closely related. The study involved household surveys, where a total of 6,287 out of 31,878 people reported smoking between March 2014, and September 2015. Of these, 144 had begun an attempt to quit smoking in the week before the survey. The respondents completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test consumption questionnaire (Audit-C). The data were a cross sectional representation of the population of adults in England.