Smokers who experience significant pain smoke more cigarettes per day than those who are not regularly in pain, according to a study published by researchers at the University of Kentucky.
However, more than half of smokers with pain are at least considering quitting smoking.
"While people with pain smoke more, they are just as interested in quitting as those without pain," said study author Ellen Hahn, professor, UK College of Nursing.
According to the study, published in the June 2006 edition of Nicotine & Tobacco Research, not only do smokers who suffer from chronic pain tend to smoke at higher than average rates, but some studies suggest that smoking may cause patients to not do well in pain therapy.
"Pain sufferers may not view smoking cessation as a goal of their treatment. Exercise, diet and smoking cessation are all activities more likely to make a person feel worse in the short run, but may be keys to regaining enough vitality to live fully with significant pain," Hahn said. "People who have become used to feeling sick often do not see the importance of endeavors that do not provide pain relief. Placing formal tobacco dependence treatment programs within pain clinics would be worthwhile, in light of this research."