Alcohol misuse and smoking constitute two of the three leading preventable causes of death in the United States. Reluctance to treat tobacco dependence among those with AUD is misguided as recent research suggests smoking cessation treatment can be effective, does not increase risk of relapse to alcohol, and may even improve rates of sobriety. There is strong evidence for the short-term efficacy for alcohol misuse and smoking of contingency management (CM). It is an intensive behavioral therapy that provides incentives (vouchers, money) to individuals misusing substances contingent upon objective evidence from drug use. Implementation of CM has been limited because of the need to verify abstinence multiple times daily using clinic based monitoring. The investigators recently developed a smart-phone application which allows a patient to video themselves several times daily while using a small CO monitor and to transmit the data to a secure server which has made the use of CM for outpatient smoking cessation portable and feasible. This mobile CM (mCM) approach paired with cognitive-behavioral counseling and pharmacological smoking cessation aids has been effective in reducing smoking.~Thus, the purpose of this project is to develop a combined alcohol and smoking mCM intervention. The intervention will be developed in two successive cohorts of five participants, who will provide information on treatment acceptability and feasibility. A third cohort of participants (n=45) will participate in a randomized clinical trials to further examine feasibility and efficacy. The long term goal is to develop mCM procedures that will be used as part of a multi-component intervention to concurrently and effectively treat both alcohol misuse and smoking. As part of this project, the investigators will develop a multi-component telehealth alcohol and smoking mCM intervention. It will include mCM, cognitive-behavioral phone counseling, and standard smoking cessation pharmacotherapy. The work proposed in these aims will provide the first step toward implementation of an innovative approach that builds upon the power of mHealth technology to reduce the prevalence of both alcohol misuse and smoking.
Alcohol misuse and smoking constitute two of the three leading preventable causes of death in the United States. The purpose of this research study is to develop an intervention designed to help people stop drinking alcohol and stop smoking at the same time.