TY - JOUR
T1 - Smoking Topography Characteristics during a 6-Week Trial of Very Low Nicotine Content Cigarettes in Smokers with Serious Mental Illness
AU - Denlinger-Apte, Rachel L.
AU - Donny, Eric C.
AU - Lindgren, Bruce R.
AU - Rubin, Nathan
AU - Goodwin, Christine
AU - Deatley, Teresa
AU - Colby, Suzanne M.
AU - Cioe, Patricia A.
AU - Hatsukami, Dorothy K.
AU - Tidey, Jennifer W.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
PY - 2020/8/1
Y1 - 2020/8/1
N2 - Introduction: A nicotine-reduction policy could have major benefits for smokers with serious mental illness (SMI). However, potential unintended consequences, such as compensatory smoking, should be considered to ensure that such a policy does not negatively affect this population. The purpose of this secondary analysis was to examine the impact of smoking very low nicotine content (VLNC) cigarettes for 6 weeks on smoking topography characteristics, indicators of compensatory smoking, among smokers with SMI. Aims and Methods: After a baseline usual brand smoking phase, smokers with SMI (N = 58) were randomly assigned under double-blind conditions to receive either VLNC (0.4 mg nicotine per g tobacco) or normal nicotine content (NNC; 15.8 mg nicotine per g tobacco) research cigarettes for 6 weeks. During two study visits scheduled 6 weeks apart, participants smoked either their usual brand (baseline) or assigned study cigarettes (postrandomization) through a handheld smoking topography device. Univariate analysis of variance compared smoking topography indices with cigarette condition (VLNC vs. NNC) as the between-subjects factor with corresponding baseline topography results included as covariates. Results: At week 6, participants in the VLNC condition smoked fewer puffs per cigarette and had shorter interpuff intervals compared to participants in the NNC condition (ps <. 05). There were no differences between research cigarette conditions at week 6 for cigarette volume, puff volume, puff duration, peak flow rate, or carbon monoxide boost. Conclusions: Findings are consistent with acute VLNC cigarette topography studies and indicate that a nicotine-reduction policy is unlikely to lead to compensation among smokers with SMI. Implications: Given the high smoking rates among people with SMI, understanding how a nicotine-reduction policy may affect this population is critically important. When considering the smoking topography results as a whole, smokers with SMI did not engage in compensatory smoking behavior when using VLNC cigarettes during a 6-week trial. Study findings suggest that compensatory smoking is not likely to occur among smokers with SMI if nicotine content is lowered to minimally addictive levels.
AB - Introduction: A nicotine-reduction policy could have major benefits for smokers with serious mental illness (SMI). However, potential unintended consequences, such as compensatory smoking, should be considered to ensure that such a policy does not negatively affect this population. The purpose of this secondary analysis was to examine the impact of smoking very low nicotine content (VLNC) cigarettes for 6 weeks on smoking topography characteristics, indicators of compensatory smoking, among smokers with SMI. Aims and Methods: After a baseline usual brand smoking phase, smokers with SMI (N = 58) were randomly assigned under double-blind conditions to receive either VLNC (0.4 mg nicotine per g tobacco) or normal nicotine content (NNC; 15.8 mg nicotine per g tobacco) research cigarettes for 6 weeks. During two study visits scheduled 6 weeks apart, participants smoked either their usual brand (baseline) or assigned study cigarettes (postrandomization) through a handheld smoking topography device. Univariate analysis of variance compared smoking topography indices with cigarette condition (VLNC vs. NNC) as the between-subjects factor with corresponding baseline topography results included as covariates. Results: At week 6, participants in the VLNC condition smoked fewer puffs per cigarette and had shorter interpuff intervals compared to participants in the NNC condition (ps <. 05). There were no differences between research cigarette conditions at week 6 for cigarette volume, puff volume, puff duration, peak flow rate, or carbon monoxide boost. Conclusions: Findings are consistent with acute VLNC cigarette topography studies and indicate that a nicotine-reduction policy is unlikely to lead to compensation among smokers with SMI. Implications: Given the high smoking rates among people with SMI, understanding how a nicotine-reduction policy may affect this population is critically important. When considering the smoking topography results as a whole, smokers with SMI did not engage in compensatory smoking behavior when using VLNC cigarettes during a 6-week trial. Study findings suggest that compensatory smoking is not likely to occur among smokers with SMI if nicotine content is lowered to minimally addictive levels.
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U2 - 10.1093/ntr/ntz198
DO - 10.1093/ntr/ntz198
M3 - Article
C2 - 31628475
AN - SCOPUS:85086564116
SN - 1462-2203
VL - 22
SP - 1414
EP - 1418
JO - Nicotine and Tobacco Research
JF - Nicotine and Tobacco Research
IS - 8
ER -