Smoking would be banned at all addiction-treatment programs in New York State under proposed regulations from the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), the New York Times reported July 24.

The agency is proposing that by next July all treatment programs will be smoke free -- the ban would apply to staff as well as patients -- and have initiated programs to help clients quit. Programs would have to offer nicotine-addiction treatment to all patients, and provide free services to those who don't have insurance.

Those programs that fail to comply could lose their state certification.

If the plan is implemented, New York would be the first state to require addiction patients to get stop-smoking services, and only the second (after New Jersey) to ban smoking at residential treatment programs.

An estimated 92 percent of addiction-treatment clients smoke, compared to 19 percent of the general population. But treatment programs have long resisted incorporating smoking cessation for clients, believing that it would be too much for patients to quit smoking as well as ending their alcohol or other drug use.

"It was thought that treating the tobacco dependence would put unfair pressure on the patient working toward recovery," said OASAS commissioner Karen M. Carpenter-Palumbo. "We now know that's not true. Including tobacco dependence while treating other addictions actually leads to higher recovery success rates. We need to focus on the overall wellness of our patients and not ignore this deadly addiction."

Richard Hurt, director of the Nicotine Dependence Center at the Mayo Clinic, praised the OASAS plan. "It is a very progressive step that New York is taking, and it brings attention to the substance that is most likely to cause the death of the patient," he said.