Both reducing cigarettes per day and transitioning to very low-nicotine-content cigarettes decreases demand for usual-brand cigarettes.

Abstract

Reducing cigarettes per day (CPD) and transitioning to very low-nicotine-content (VLNC) cigarettes appear to decrease nicotine dependence. Other well-accepted measures of the addictiveness of cigarettes involve behavioral economic simulation models, such as the cigarette purchase task (CPT), which characterizes the reinforcing efficacy of cigarettes. Currently it is unclear whether reducing CPD or reducing nicotine through VLNC cigarettes leads to greater reductions in the reinforcing efficacy of cigarettes. The current paper reports a secondary analysis of a 5-week, 2-arm unblinded randomized trial, in which participants were instructed to gradually reduce to 70%, 35%, 15%, and 3% of baseline nicotine over 4 weeks by either (a) reducing CPD (n = 32) or (b) switching to VLNC cigarettes (n = 36). Participants completed the CPT for their usual-brand cigarettes at baseline and again at a 1-month follow-up. Demand was significantly reduced for participants' usual-brand cigarettes in both the CPD, t(18) = 7.65, p < .0001, and the VLNC groups, t(18) = 7.39, p < .0001, from prereduction procedure to the 1-month follow-up. Maximum consumption at zero price (intensity), and maximum expenditure (Omax), were reduced significantly for both the CPD group, t(16) = 3.23, p = .005; t(16) = 3.71, p = .002, respectively, and the VLNC group, t(22) = 3.62, p = .002; t(22) = 3.14, p = .005, respectively, prereduction procedure to the 1-month follow-up. Thus, despite the different mechanisms by which the value of cigarettes was manipulated, both interventions reduced the reinforcing efficacy of cigarettes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).