to the editor: Bravo! I was greatly heartened to see the no-nonsense article and patient education handout on smoking cessation in patients with a history of alcohol abuse, written by Dr. McIlvain and colleagues.¹ I have preached for nearly 15 years now that most patients addicted to both nicotine and alcohol would probably be better off if they quit using both substances at the same time. During my work in the field of recovery from addictions, I caught quite a bit of grief for taking such a radical stance, especially from the recovering community. Thank you.