Proposing concurrent alcohol and tobacco withdrawal. Analysis of the perceptions of Belgian nurses in the alcoholism unit.

Introduction: Dual tobacco-alcohol addiction is common, but the literature often considers only the issue of withdrawal from one substance at a time and emphasises that the assessment of tobacco use seems to be neglected in psychiatry.

Subject And Methods: In this study, we analysed the perceptions of nurses working in alcoholism units before and after motivational interviewing trainingon proposing concurrent alcohol-tobacco withdrawal to patients.

Results: Nurses, unlike psychiatry postgraduates, were able to achieve acomprehensive and systematic history of substance abuse, but bothtended not to recommend concurrent tobacco-alcohol withdrawal. Training in motivational interviewing was inclined to reverse this tendency.

Discussion: Reducing feelings of helplessness that carers experience when patientsrelapse is one of the factors to change.

Conclusion: Recommendations for the development of concurrent alcohol tobacco withdrawal programmes.