Differences in Nicotine Dependence and Delay Discounting between Traditional and E-cigarette Users

Abstract

The present study attempts to explore the differences in nicotine dependence and delay discounting between traditional cigarette and e-cigarette users. According to the Competing Neurobehavioral Decision Systems Theory, this study will also discuss the characteristics of impulsive decisions exhibited by smokers with these two different tobacco products. Study 1 used the Fagerström Nicotine Dependence Test (FTND) to investigate the nicotine dependence levels of traditional and e-cigarette users respectively. Based on study 1, study 2 adopted the Delay Discounting Task (DDT) to compare the difference in delay discounting among the non-smoking group, traditional cigarette group and e-cigarette group, with unrelated variables such as demography variables (gender, age, education) and nicotine dependence level controlled. The results showed that in Study 1, e-cigarette users had significantly higher nicotine dependence than traditional cigarette users. In Study 2, the degree of delay discounting between the traditional cigarette group and the e-cigarette group was significantly higher than that of the non-smoking group, while there was no significant difference in the degree of delay discounting between the traditional cigarette group and the e-cigarette group. The current findings suggest that e-cigarettes may exacerbate smokers' nicotine dependence. Traditional cigarette and e-cigarette users exhibit similar and significantly higher levels of delay discounting than the general population, indicating that the general connection between nicotine dependence and high levels of delay discounting is not influenced by different tobacco products.