The association between smoking, chronic pain, and prescription opioid use: 2013-2021

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39406283/ Although smokers represent just 16 percent of the population, they account for nearly one-third of opioid prescriptions and 40 percent of annual morphine-equivalent doses, according to an AHRQ analysis that found a strong connection among smoking, chronic pain and opioid use. The study, an analysis of data from AHRQ’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey published in Journal of Pain, found that smokers are also significantly more likely to experience chronic pain and start or continue opioid use with stronger opioid dosages. Researchers also found that people who quit smoking show a 20 percent drop in opioid use and a 23 percent reduction in pain within a year, eventually reaching similar pain and opioid-use levels as nonsmokers over time. Integrating smoking cessation programs into pain management could bring lasting relief to people with chronic pain, the authors concluded https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/