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Change in smoking and drinking after september 11, 2001, in a national sample of ever smokers and ever drinkers.

Pfefferbaum B, North CS, Pfefferbaum RL, Christiansen EH, Schorr JK, Vincent RD, Boudreaux AS

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73126-0901, USA. betty-pfefferbaum@ouhsc.edu

Telephone survey methodology was used to examine smoking and drinking after the September 11 terrorist attacks in a representative national sample. Most ever smokers and ever drinkers reported no change in substance use after the attacks. Smokers and drinkers who increased substance use were significantly more likely than those who did not to endorse a number of emotional reactions and functional difficulties. The pattern of associations of decreased use with emotional reactions and functional difficulties differed between smokers and drinkers. In general, decreased smoking was associated with denial of emotional reactions and functional difficulties whereas decreased drinking was associated with endorsement of these reactions and difficulties. The results have implications for research, clinical practice, and public health.

Published 15 February 2008 in J Nerv Ment Dis, 196(2): 113-21.
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