Impact of an Intervention Targeting Sleep Disorders During Tobacco or Cannabis Cessation Therapy: a Randomised Pilot Study

Smoking is a serious public health issue in France, with one quarter of the population who smokes on a daily base. Tobacco use represents the first avoidable death cause. Cannabis, often use with tobacco, is the most frequent drug use, worldwide and with a prevalence of 3.2% of regular users in France, including 2.1% of daily users. Both substances are associated with sleep disorders; for instance, nicotine has several side effects, such as a negative impact on sleep quality and structure. During cessation therapy, sleep disorders were identified as a risk factor of relapse and one of the main lasting symptoms. Therefore, relation between addiction and sleep disorders seem to be bidirectional, potentially increasing the impact of each other. Screening and managing sleep disorders as a preventive measure to avoid relapse represents an improvement during smoking or cannabis use cessation treatment.

The main objective of the study is to evaluate the impact of a specific intervention targeting sleep disorders during tobacco or cannabis cessation therapy. We will conduct a randomised pilot study among patients presenting at two participating addiction prevention and care centres, for smoking or cannabis use cessation treatment. Patients who are eligible and agree to participate will be randomised in either control group, and will benefit of the usual care, or intervention group, and will benefit in addition of a systematic and standardised screening of sleep disorders, and specific care at the Chronos centre, if any disorder is diagnosed.

Patients will be followed over a 6-month period, with two visits at 1 and 3 months, to monitor indicators related to substance consumption and sleep. The impact of the targeted intervention will be evaluate based on the abstinence duration over the 6 months, calculated on the total number of days without tobacco / cannabis use. We will also collect other information that can be associated with the success or failure of cessation therapy, such as depressive symptoms, anxiety disorders, the use of other psychoactive substances (alcohol for instance), other psychiatric disorder, etc.

Questions on sleep will be asked to patients in the control group, to assess comparability of both groups throughout the study. This pilot trial will allow us to determine the feasibility and efficacy of a targeted intervention on sleep disorders during smoking or cannabis use cessation therapy, in order to generalise such care in the usual practice.