HARD HABITS TO BREAK

Addictions are terrible and mysterious things, products of a
complicated mixture of brain wiring, unhealthy environments and the
outsourcing of personal responsibility.

That's why beating addiction is so hard, why even the most determined
recovering addicts make many attempts to quash whatever habit is
dominating their lives before succeeding.

The most difficult step on the path to recovery is often the first
one: seeking help. With more Canadian addiction treatment facilities
banning smoking, that step is becoming even more difficult.

People addicted to hard drugs like their cigarettes. Less than 20 per
cent of the general population smokes, compared to about 90 per cent
of drug addicts. Many addicts claim smoking helps them cope with their
cravings for the hard stuff. So it's no surprise that some treatment
facilities -- such as youth detox centres in British Columbia -- saw
their occupancy rates plummet after they instituted smoking bans.

There is nothing wrong, of course, with helping drug addicts quit
smoking. Tobacco addiction accounts for more deaths, by far, than
addictions to alcohol or illicit drugs. One U.S. study of deceased
alcoholics found that 30 per cent had died from alcohol-related
illnesses, while half had died from diseases caused by smoking.

Furthermore, evidence has arisen suggesting that addicts who receive
aids to quit smoking during treatment are more likely to beat
addictions to hard drugs. But, as is often the case, there are studies
that show the opposite. Then there are addiction experts like Dr.
Richard Hurt, director of the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Centre
in Minnesota, who claims most studies indicate getting addicts to quit
cigarettes has no effect on recovery rates.

The danger is that smoking bans might deter addicts from seeking help
in the first place, or make that first stage of treatment unduly
difficult. Banning smoking in buildings makes sense, but there is no
reason to ban smoking completely from a treatment centre's property.
Many facilities, like the Regina Detox Centre, allow patients to smoke
in gazebos, which permits smokers to light up without exposing
employees to second-hand smoke. The centre's director claims many of
her patients live closer to detox centres with smoking bans, but
choose hers instead because they have no intentions of quitting.

Enforcing a smoking ban is also difficult and places an immense burden
on treatment centre employees. Shortly after banning smoking in the
early 1990s, The Gateway Rehabilitation Center, near Pittsburgh, ran
into all sorts of problems. Patients snuck out of windows in the night
to smoke; family members smuggled in cigarettes; tobacco products were
found in toilets and radios and body cavities; an in-house black
market sprung up and a single cigarette went for as much as $5. After
eight months, the centre lifted the ban.

Proponents of banning smoking in treatment centres say it's important
for addicts to focus on overall wellness. That sounds good, in theory,
but it's difficult for anyone to focus on several difficult tasks at
once. If drug addicts want to quit nicotine too, then, by all means,
let's help them do it. But the path to recovery from a cocaine or
heroin habit is already long and difficult. The last thing addicts
need are more obstacles.