I’ve written before on antiquated treatment centre
rules. Now that we’re in the 21st Century there seems to be a whole
new set of rules coming to some centres. The worst is forcing people to quit
smoking as a requirement for treatment. Yes, I know, there have been numerous
studies that show that it’s easier to quit smoking when you’re quitting
everything else but that doesn’t mean you should force someone to do it. And
other studies have shown that smoking cigarettes can cause relapse but so can
breaking up with someone or a death in the family – you can’t safe guard
against everything. I wholeheartedly agree with encouraging someone to quit
smoking, providing nicotine patches, Champix, etc. However, penalizing people
who smoke seems counterproductive to me.
When I first got sober I was actively drinking
alcohol and smoking crack cocaine. I was also a smoker. I’m not sure I would
have been successful in treatment if I had been forced to quit tobacco as well.
I did eventually quit but it was several years into sobriety. The difference
between tobacco and alcohol/drugs is that most people aren’t going to sell all
their belongings, steal and/or miss work/commitments because of cigarettes.
I have a buddy who was in treatment and doing well.
The treatment centre had adopted a no smoking policy. After a successful time
at this treatment centre he had earned an outing. During the outing my friend
ended up having a couple cigarettes. Returning to treatment he admitted this to
his counsellor (honesty is important in recovery) and the centre counted this
as a relapse promptly kicking him out. He didn’t come back to the centre
intoxicated. He did not drink alcohol, smoke crack or use opiates on his outing
but he broke down and had a couple cigarettes. In my humble opinion kicking
someone out of treatment for a “breach” like this only serves to hurt the
person and possibly be a catalyst for a relapse into drugs and alcohol. What
type of lesson is this? Nicotine is, if not the hardest, than one of the hardest
addictions to beat. Penalizing a person for having a cigarette on an outing is
anti-recovery, anti-therapeutic and darn mean.
Dave the Dude
