Tobacco use linked with higher use of opioids and sedatives

Tobacco is a known risk factor for the misuse of prescription opioids. In addition, concurrent use of opioids and sedative-hypnotics is a risk factor for opioid overdose or addiction.

In an American Journal on Addictions study, tobacco users were more likely to receive prescriptions for opioid analgesics with muscle relaxants and/or benzodiazepines than people who did not use tobacco.

The findings, which come from an annual survey of visits to office-based physicians in outpatient settings in the United States, suggest that appropriate caution should be exercised while co-prescribing opioid analgesics with muscle relaxants and/or benzodiazepines among tobacco users to prevent prescription drug addiction.