Smoking can make it harder to recover from alcoholism, putting people who have both addictions in a potentially harder position, University Herald reported on Monday.

Study clients who smoked stayed in alcohol treatment programs for a shorter length of time than those who don't smoke and also have less effective treatment outcomes than non-tobacco users.

Researchers at the University ay Buffalo Research Institute studied 21,000 adult patients from 253 outpatient substance abuse facilities in New York.

"The data suggest that smoking is associated with difficulties in alcohol treatment," Kimberly Walitzer, deputy director and senior research scientist at RIA, said in a statement. "Tobacco smokers had shorter treatment durations and were less likely to have achieved their alcohol-related goals at discharge relative to their nonsmoking counterparts."

Alcohol users are much likely to smoke, while only about 20 percent of all people in the United States smoke. Alcohol use and smoking usually correlate with lower education levels, criminal activity and unemployment, according to Buffalo.edu.

For women, the numbers were higher. Only 15 percent of women smoke, but 67 percent of women in alcohol treatment programs reported smoking, according to Walitzer's data.

"Previous research indicates that if people can quit smoking when entering alcohol treatment, they may have better alcohol outcomes," Walitzer said "However, simultaneous cessation is a task that is very challenging to accomplish."