MONDAY, April 20, 2026 (NewsDay News) — People who experience chronic pain tend to use cigarettes and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) at higher rates than those without chronic pain, according to the May 2026 issue.American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Julianne L. Lazzari, of Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues examined national trends in exclusive cigarette smoking, exclusive use of e-cigarettes, and dual use (2014 to 2023) among 195,632 US adults who participated in the National Health Survey with and without chronic pain.
The researchers found that the prevalence of exclusive smoking among individuals with chronic pain (17.7 percent in 2014 and 13.1 percent in 2023) was significantly higher and decreased more slowly among those without (12.5 percent in 2014 and 7.5 percent in 2023). Both the exclusive use of e-cigarettes and the prevalence of dual use were higher in the chronic pain group across all years when adjusted for age, sex/gender, and race/ethnicity. The increase in exclusive use of e-cigarettes was similar among those with chronic pain (1.4 percent in 2014 and 5.6 percent in 2023) and those without chronic pain (1.2 percent in 2014 and 4.5 percent in 2023). Similarly, the prevalence of dual use was observed among individuals with chronic pain (4.6% in 2014 and 2.7% in 2023) and without chronic pain (2.3% in 2014 and 1.5% in 2023).
Co-author Jessica Powers, of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said in a statement: “People get caught in this really vicious cycle where the pain makes smoking, smoking makes the pain worse, and it’s really hard to quit.”
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