Beware of alcohol and tobacco

Many people turn to alcohol and tobacco as a way to cope with chronic pain in the short term because these substances can temporarily create feelings of pleasure. However, it is important to be cautious.

Both alcohol and tobacco can lead to dependence, more pain and, and various health risks linked to their use.

Equally, if you rely on drinking or smoking to manage or escape the pain, each drink or puff can serve as a reminder of the pain, reinforcing the pain cycle.

During my three-week stay at the Mayo Clinic Pain Rehabilitation Center, alcohol consumption was prohibited. The program also offered classes designed to help individuals quit smoking.​

Learn more

• Chronic pain: Why does alcohol worsen it?
• Alcohol And Chronic Pain
• Alcohol Use Disorder and Chronic Pain: An Overlooked Epidemic (helps explain how alcohol reinforces the pain and continues the pain cycle)
• Effects of smoking on patients with chronic pain: a propensity-weighted analysis on the Collaborative Health Outcomes Information Registry
• Pain intensity and smoking behavior among treatment seeking smokers
• Pain Drives Dual Tobacco and Cannabis Use, Study Shows
• Association of Cigarette Smoking with Risk of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Meta-Analysis