School of Psychology, University of East London, Water Lane, Stratford, London, England, United Kingdom.
Addict Behav. 2012 Aug;37(8):970-3. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2012.03.004. Epub 2012 Mar 10.
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are battery operated devices that deliver nicotine via inhaled vapour. Few studies have evaluated acute effects on craving and mood, and none have explored effects on cognition. This study aimed to explore the effects of the White Super e-cigarette on desire to smoke, nicotine withdrawal symptoms, attention and working memory. Eighty-six smokers were randomly allocated to either: 18 mg nicotine e-cigarette (nicotine), 0mg e-cigarette (placebo), or just hold the e-cigarette (just hold) conditions. Participants rated their desire to smoke and withdrawal symptoms at baseline (T1), and five (T2) and twenty (T3) minutes after using the e-cigarette ad libitum for 5 min. A subset of participants completed the Letter Cancellation and Brown-Peterson Working Memory Tasks. After 20 min, compared with the just hold group, desire to smoke and some aspects of nicotine withdrawal were significantly reduced in the nicotine and placebo group; the nicotine e-cigarette was superior to placebo in males but not in females. The nicotine e-cigarette also improved working memory performance compared with placebo at the longer interference intervals. There was no effect of nicotine on Letter Cancellation performance. To conclude, the White Super e-cigarette alleviated desire to smoke and withdrawal symptoms 20 min after use although the nicotine content was more important for males. This study also demonstrated for the first time that the nicotine e-cigarette can enhance working memory performance. Further evaluation of the cognitive effects of the e-cigarette and its efficacy as a cessation tool is merited.
电子烟（e-cigarettes）是一种通过吸入蒸汽输送尼古丁的电池供电设备。很少有研究评估其对吸烟欲望和情绪的急性影响，也没有研究探索其对认知的影响。本研究旨在探讨 White Super 电子烟对吸烟欲望、尼古丁戒断症状、注意力和工作记忆的影响。86 名吸烟者被随机分配到以下三种情况之一：18mg 尼古丁电子烟（尼古丁）、0mg 电子烟（安慰剂）或仅手持电子烟（仅手持）。参与者在基线（T1）以及使用电子烟自由吸 5 分钟后 5 分钟（T2）和 20 分钟（T3）时，对吸烟欲望和戒断症状进行评分。部分参与者完成了字母删除和 Brown-Peterson 工作记忆任务。20 分钟后，与仅手持组相比，尼古丁和安慰剂组的吸烟欲望和一些尼古丁戒断症状明显降低；尼古丁电子烟在男性中优于安慰剂，但在女性中并非如此。与安慰剂相比，尼古丁电子烟在较长干扰间隔下也能改善工作记忆表现。尼古丁对字母删除表现没有影响。总之，White Super 电子烟在使用 20 分钟后缓解了吸烟欲望和戒断症状，尽管尼古丁含量对男性更为重要。本研究还首次证明，尼古丁电子烟可以增强工作记忆表现。电子烟对认知的影响及其作为戒烟工具的疗效值得进一步评估。
