Source: Reuters
Date: 2010-06-17

Smokers may use more prescription opioid painkillers than
non-smokers, according to a study from Norway.

The findings suggest, the researchers say, that doctors should
ask patients about their smoking habits before prescribing
opioids for pain that is not related to cancer.

While use of powerful opioid painkillers for non-cancer pain has
risen sharply in many parts of the world, the use of these drugs
is controversial, largely because of their addictive potential.
Certain factors -- for example, a history of alcohol or drug
abuse -- can increase a person\'s likelihood of abusing prescribed
opioids.

There\'s also evidence that a person\'s smoking habits could
influence their opioid use, Dr. Svetlana Skurtveit of the
Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo and her colleagues
note in the Annals of Epidemiology.