TY - JOUR
T1 - The effect of tobacco smoking on subjective symptoms of inadequacy ("not holding") of methadone dose among opiate addicts in methadone maintenance treatment
AU - Tacke, U
AU - Wolff, K
AU - Finch, E
AU - Strang, J
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between subjective symptoms of inadequacy of methadone dose (not feeling "held") and tobacco smoking in patients in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). This was a cross-sectional study of smoking behaviour, investigating subjective, physiological and psychological symptoms. The study took place in a community-based methadone maintenance clinic of a psychiatric teaching hospital in South London. Fifty adult opiate addicts (37 males and 13 females) were on a stable daily methadone dose; the number of cigarettes smoked during the day and previous day of investigation, salivary cotinine measurements and carbon monoxide (CO) from expired air were measured. The Methadone Symptom Checklist (MSC) was used to score withdrawal symptoms encountered in patients not feeling "held" during MMT The Hamilton Anxiety Score was also used. The prevalence of tobacco-smoking was high (98%), with two-thirds (68%) smoking self-fabricated cigarettes ("roll-ups"). Scores front rating scales measuring symptoms of not being "held" correlated with number of cigarettes smoked the previous day (p <0.05). A similar correlation was found with the Hamilton Anxiety Score. However, there was no correlation between rating scale scores and either salivary cotinine concentration or CO from expired air. Methadone patients who smoke more are significantly more likely to report problems of not feeling "held" by their methadone dose and they also shown a higher level of anxiety. However, this increased cigarette consumption is not reflected in increased salivary continine levels or levels of CO in expired air, and it may be that the raised level of anxiety leads to a smoking-pattern consisting of frequent lighting-up of cigarettes or "roll-ups" which am consumed incompletely! and/or not smoked by inhalation.
AB - The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between subjective symptoms of inadequacy of methadone dose (not feeling "held") and tobacco smoking in patients in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). This was a cross-sectional study of smoking behaviour, investigating subjective, physiological and psychological symptoms. The study took place in a community-based methadone maintenance clinic of a psychiatric teaching hospital in South London. Fifty adult opiate addicts (37 males and 13 females) were on a stable daily methadone dose; the number of cigarettes smoked during the day and previous day of investigation, salivary cotinine measurements and carbon monoxide (CO) from expired air were measured. The Methadone Symptom Checklist (MSC) was used to score withdrawal symptoms encountered in patients not feeling "held" during MMT The Hamilton Anxiety Score was also used. The prevalence of tobacco-smoking was high (98%), with two-thirds (68%) smoking self-fabricated cigarettes ("roll-ups"). Scores front rating scales measuring symptoms of not being "held" correlated with number of cigarettes smoked the previous day (p <0.05). A similar correlation was found with the Hamilton Anxiety Score. However, there was no correlation between rating scale scores and either salivary cotinine concentration or CO from expired air. Methadone patients who smoke more are significantly more likely to report problems of not feeling "held" by their methadone dose and they also shown a higher level of anxiety. However, this increased cigarette consumption is not reflected in increased salivary continine levels or levels of CO in expired air, and it may be that the raised level of anxiety leads to a smoking-pattern consisting of frequent lighting-up of cigarettes or "roll-ups" which am consumed incompletely! and/or not smoked by inhalation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0035012981&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13556210020040217
DO - 10.1080/13556210020040217
M3 - Article
VL - 6
SP - 137
EP - 145
JO - Addiction Biology
JF - Addiction Biology
IS - 2
ER -