Use of tobacco based products is the leading cause of preventable death and disability in the United States, while heavy drinking ranks as third on the list. Taxation of cigarettes has been recognized as one of the most significant tools to reduce smoking. Since smoking and drinking most often occur together, a new study has examined taxation of cigarettes and found that increases in taxes on the product are associated with modest to moderate reductions in alcohol consumption among vulnerable groups.

“Smoking and heavy drinking co-occur at alarmingly high rates,” said Sherry McKee, associate professor of psychiatry
at Yale University School of Medicine and corresponding author of the study. “Tobacco can enhance the subjective effects of alcohol and has been shown to increase the risk for heavy and problematic drinking. Smokers drink more frequently and more heavily than non-smokers, and are substantially more likely than non-smokers to meet criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence. The co-occurrence of smoking and drinking is of particular clinical significance given evidence that health consequences exponentially increase with combined versus singular abuse of alcohol and tobacco.”

“Smoking and drinking are strongly linked for a host of reasons including complementary pharmacologic effects, shared neuronal pathways, shared genetic associations, common environmental factors, and learned associations,” added Christopher W. Kahler, professor and chair of the department of behavioral and social sciences at Brown School of Public Health. “However, it is possible to intervene through behavioral treatments, pharmacotherapy, and policy to affect both behaviors in a positive way.”

McKee and her colleagues examined data that was gathered through personal interviews  with 21, 473 alcohol consumers as part of the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The analyses evaluated whether increases in cigarette taxes from 2001 to 2002 and 2004 to 2005 were associated with a reduction in quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption. Analyses were conducted by gender, hazardous drinking status, age, income group and were adjusted by demographic, baseline consumption and price.

“While the study does not show a causal association, in the context of laboratory, clinical, and policy studies conducted to date, it suggests that policy makers and clinicians may have significant opportunities to address heavy drinking and smoking together,” said Kahler.

The study’s findings will be published in the January 2014 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.