A Prototypical First-Generation Electronic Cigarette Does Not Reduce Reports of Tobacco Urges or Withdrawal Symptoms among Cigarette Smokers

Introduction:
This article investigates the effects of a first-generation electronic cigarette (EC) on smoking urges and withdrawal symptoms following 24 hours of tobacco deprivation. The study aims to compare the behavioral effects of a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized, within-subject design, examining controlled puffs from a conventional cigarette (CC) and an EC producing aerosol from commercial solutions containing 0, 8, or 16mg/ml of nicotine.

Key Points:

* The study included 8 participants, all Caucasian, aged between 22 and 47 years, who smoked an average of 20 cigarettes per day and scored an average of 5.6 on the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence.
* Participants were subjected to one 4-hour practice session, followed by four two-session test blocks, with a minimum of 48 hours separating each test block.
* During the practice session, participants were familiarized with how to use the EC. In each test block, participants underwent a "baseline" session, 24 hours of tobacco deprivation, and a "deprivation" session.
* Compliance with the 24-hour tobacco deprivation was verified using breath CO criteria of ≤6ppm or 10% of pre-deprivation breath CO, whichever was greater.
* The Minnesota Nicotine Withdrawal Scale (MNWS), Questionnaire of Smoking Urges-Brief (QSU-B), Visual Analog Scale-Smoking Effects (VAS-SE), and Visual Analog Scale-Postsmoking (VAS-PS) were used to assess smoking withdrawal symptoms, smoking urges, and smoking or EC use effects.
* Cognitive tasks, including the Digit Symbol Substitution Task (DSST) and the Rapid Information Processing Task (RIP), were also administered.
* Heart rate and blood pressure were recorded throughout the study.

Main Message:
The main message of the study is that a prototypical first-generation EC, regardless of nicotine concentration, does not reduce self-reported tobacco urges or withdrawal symptoms among cigarette smokers following 24 hours of tobacco deprivation. This finding suggests that first-generation ECs may not be effective in managing smoking urges and withdrawal symptoms during tobacco cessation attempts.

Harvanko, Arit M., Catherine A. Martin, Richard J. Kryscio, William W. Stoops, Joshua A. Lile, and Thomas H. Kelly. “A Prototypical First-Generation Electronic Cigarette Does Not Reduce Reports of Tobacco Urges or Withdrawal Symptoms among Cigarette Smokers.” Journal of Addiction 2017 (2017): 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/6748948.