Unintended Effects of a Smoking Cessation Intervention on Latino Fathers' Binge Drinking In Early Postpartum.

Background: Research suggests that when smokers reduce their smoking, they also reduce their alcohol consumption.

Purpose: To examine the effects of a smoking cessation intervention and actual quitting smoking on binge drinking behavior among Latino expectant and new fathers.

Methods: Logistic regression models were used to examine the effect of intervention arm and quitting smoking on past 30-day binge drinking measured at 3-months and 12-months postpartum while controlling for known covariates.

Results: Fathers in the intervention arm were significantly more likely to decrease their binge drinking at the 12-month follow-up (OR=0.57, 95% CI=0.35–0.93). Quitting smoking, measured by both 7-day and 30-day point prevalence, was positively associated with reduced binge drinking at 3-months (OR=0.25, 95% CI=0.14–0.45; OR=0.44, 95% CI= 0.26–0.75) and 12-months (OR=0.22, 95% CI=0.11–0.42; OR=0.43, 95% CI= 0.24–0.77).

Conclusions: The results of this study support the positive effects of a smoking cessation intervention on decreasing binge drinking behavior among Latino fathers in the postpartum period.