Breaking the cycle of smoking and pain: do pain-related anxiety and pain reduction expectancies sabotage attempts to quit smoking and can smoking cessation improve pain and pain-related disability outcomes?

Breaking the cycle of smoking and pain: do pain-related anxiety and pain reduction expectancies sabotage attempts to quit smoking and can smoking cessation improve pain and pain-related disability outcomes? Cogn Behav Ther. 2020 Aug 27;:1-18 Authors: Parkerson HA, Sareen J, Asmundson GJG Abstract Contemporary models of smoking and pain suggest a reciprocal and self-perpetuating cycle, wherein smoking reduces pain in the short term but indirectly exacerbates pain in the long term. In a sample of participants engaged in an active smoking-cessation attempt, this investigation assessed a) whether specific smoking risk factors (i.e., smoking expectancies for pain reduction, pain-related anxiety) acted as barriers to cessation, and b) whether breaking the smoking-pain cycle through successful smoking abstinence impacted pain and pain-related disability outcomes for participants with pain. Participants comprised 168 smokers (44.4% with pain) who engaged in an online smoking-cessation program. Pain-related anxiety, but not smoking expectancies, accounted for a significant proportion of variance of smoking dependence from pre- to post-intervention. Results suggest that pain-related anxiety is a risk factor for maintained smoking dependence for all smokers regardless of pain status. Participants with pain who successfully quit smoking experienced statistically and clinically meaningful decreases in pain and pain-related disability from pre- to...
Source: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Cogn Behav Ther Source Type: research