Experts Split On Recession’s Effect On Addictions

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Health experts and those who help people overcome smoking, alcoholism and gambling addictions say they’re divided over the recession’s impact on addictive behavior.

Some experts say there is evidence that while cigarette use has declined due to higher state and federal taxes, alternative tobacco use such as chewing tobacco and smoking cigarettes made with rolling papers has increased.

Other advocates who help people overcome gambling and alcohol addictions say they have not seen any data that suggests more people are struggling with those problems. In some cases, they say some people who already were struggling with those addictions are having a harder time staying away from gambling and alcohol because of added stress from the recession.

Mike Dumond, chief of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services’ Bureau of Prevention Services, said while smoking rates have not increased in the state over the last year, fewer people may be trying to quit.

He said the number of telephone calls made to the state’s quit line are down from 2006. For example, the line received 711 calls in 2006, 505 in 2007, and 528 in 2008, Dumond said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga., smoking rates in New Hampshire and Maine have declined since 2006. In New Hampshire, the 2006 smoking rate was 18.7 percent. It rose to 19.4 percent in 2007, but then dipped to 17 percent in 2008.

In Maine, the CDC reported, smoking rates were 20.9 percent in 2006, 20.1 percent in 2007 and 18.2 percent in 2008.

Dumond said he believes a combination of strong tobacco prevention outreach efforts by both states coupled with increases in state and federal cigarette taxes may have made some people kick the habit. When the price per pack of cigarettes jumped in the spring, quit smoking lines in New Hampshire and Maine were burning up with calls from people who wanted to stop smoking. But neither state knows yet how many of those people actually followed through, he said.

“My sense is that people need to find other ways to relieve stress” instead of tobacco, he said.

According to Greg Connolly, a researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health in Cambridge, Mass., tobacco use is up even though cigarette use is down.

He did a study in 2008 that showed some smokers turned to less expensive tobacco products such as chewing tobacco or rolling their own cigarettes when the cost per pack increased.

Overall, he said, cigarette use has declined 50 percent over the last 20 years.

As far as the impact the recession may be having, Connolly said “it goes both ways.”

Some people may choose to give up cigarettes and quit smoking as the cost per pack goes up, but some may continue to pursue their nicotine fix in other ways, he said.

A pack of cigarettes cost about $8 in Massachusetts in 2009 and as much as $11 in New York City. If a smoker has lost a job, they may choose to kick the habit because they just can’t afford to smoke anymore, he said.

But smoking, drinking and gambling are not rational behaviors, and they often go up during tough economic times, he said.

Dr. Erika Schwartz, a health advocate in New York City, said she believes more people are smoking because of the recession.

She said the CDC reported that from January to June 2008, the national percentage of current smokers was 20.8 percent, higher than the 19.7 percent in 2007.

A Pew Research Center report from Canada in 2009 that surveyed 2,250 adult smokers showed that 25 percent of them were worried about the recession, and 13 percent of them delayed quitting and cited the recession as the reason, she said.

Schwartz said it’s important that states continue efforts to discourage tobacco use because if more people choose to smoke, they’ll run the risk of ruining their health and won’t be able to return to work when the economy recovers.

“When you’re under stress, the last thing you want is to get sick,” she said. “Smoking has never been a stress reliever.”

She said the best way for people to cope with stress is to eat right, exercise and sleep well.

“While we don’t have any control over the economy, we do have control over our bodies,” she said.

Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling in Washington, D.C., said his group doesn’t have any firm data that would tell them if more people are turning to gambling as a way to cope with the recession.

“My sense is the impact is more on the folks who are already having an issue,” said Whyte, whose group has chapters in Maine and Vermont.

He said people who are problem gamblers who have lost their jobs or may be on the brink of losing homes may turn to gambling as a quick fix.

Many states make it hard for problem gamblers to overcome their addiction because they either promote the expansion of casinos and slot machines or they do not put enough resources into helping people address their problem, Whyte said.

Also, most health insurance companies don’t cover treatment for pathological gambling, he said.

“We have not seen a huge spike in the national helpline,” he said.

Overall, he said he does not think financial troubles are the driving force behind most problem gamblers’ woes, he said.

“It has much more to do with the individual’s biology and psychology,” he said. “The urge to gamble is usually driven by much bigger things.”

Some people hit hard by the recession may also be hitting the bottle as a way to cope. According to the New Hampshire Liquor Commission, liquor sales at the state’s stores have risen over the past year.

A member of Alcoholics Anonymous said they are seeing some people who have indicated they are drinking more alcohol because of the recession.

“We do see more people attending daytime A.A. meetings, likely due to job loss, which allows them to attend meetings they would normally not be able to attend if they were working,” said Kevin S., serves as a delegate for Alcoholics Anonymous in New Hampshire, based in Hooksett. He asked to not be fully identified to honor the group’s tradition of anonymity.

He said there are more than 11,000 A.A. members in New Hampshire.

“The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking, so we typically do not ask newcomers what they believe to be the cause of their problems with alcohol,” he said.

Cook, Robert M. “Experts split on recession’s effect on addictions.” The Citizen of Laconia. 4 Oct. 2009. Web. 12 Oct. 2009. <http://www.citizen.com>.