2024/11/01 by Gideon P. Naudé, Justin C. Strickland, Meredith S. Berry +3
Medicine · Psychology · #Behavioral Health and Interventions #Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet #Smoking Behavior and Cessation
paper · doi:10.1002/jeab.4223
crossref issued 2024/11/01 · crossref published 2024/11/01 · crossref published-print 2024/11/01 · openalex publication_date 2024/11/01 · crossref published-online 2024/11/04 · crossref created 2024/11/04 · crossref deposited 2024/11/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Studies suggest that reduced-nicotine cigarettes decrease nicotine intake and dependence. However, questions remain about reduced-nicotine cigarette abuse liability, whether reduced-nicotine cigarette exposure lowers reduced- and full-nicotine cigarette use, and whether reduced-nicotine cigarettes substitute for full-nicotine cigarettes. This randomized, double-blind laboratory study used operant behavioral economics to examine abuse liability of cigarettes with varying nicotine content. Non-treatment-seeking smokers (N = 43) self-administered reduced- (5.2, 2.4, or 1.3 mg/g) and full-nicotine (15.8 mg/g) cigarettes before and after 3 weeks of at-home exposure. Participants were randomized to full-nicotine or one of the reduced-nicotine cigarettes to determine the effect of exposure on abuse liability and substitutability. Abuse liability was assessed in single-commodity sessions, and substitutability was measured in concurrent-commodity sessions. In the self-administration sessions, concurrently available reduced-nicotine cigarettes attenuated full-nicotine cigarette demand and rendered reduced-nicotine cigarettes partial substitutes for full-nicotine cigarettes. Exposure to study cigarettes for 3 weeks marginally reduced demand for reduced- and full-nicotine cigarettes irrespective of nicotine content. Results suggest a limited influence of nicotine content on smoking behavior in established smokers and highlight the role of nonpharmacological factors (e.g., taste/smell) on the maintenance of smoking. These results should be considered in determining whether a nicotine-reduction standard is a feasible path for reducing cigarette demand.