Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2019 Sep 19;21(10):1394-1400. doi: 10.1093/ntr/nty143.
Up to 24% of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) users are concurrent users of both tobacco and e-cigarettes (dual users). Dual users provide an opportunity to assess key motivational processes supporting e-cigarette use, such as the reward value of e-cigarettes. This study used the Choice Behavior Under Cued Conditions procedure to examine cue-specific reactions to tobacco and e-cigarettes with a primary focus on evaluating the relative reward value of both forms of cigarettes.
Fifty-four dual users were exposed to a lit tobacco cigarette, their own e-cigarette, or a cup of water across multiple trials. On each trial, participants rated their craving for both tobacco and e-cigarettes and indicated the amount of money they would spend to access the cue. Key measures included craving, amount of money spent to access the cue, latency to access the cue, spending choice time, and consumption.
Participants reported significantly higher craving and spent significantly more money on tobacco and e-cigarette trials than on water trials. The magnitude of cue-specific craving was comparable across tobacco and e-cigarettes, but participants spent significantly more to access tobacco cigarettes than e-cigarettes.
This is the first study to demonstrate cue-specific reactivity to e-cigarettes utilizing a neutral comparison condition and to examine the reward value of e-cigarettes relative to tobacco cigarettes. Overall, the data suggest that e-cigarette puffs are less valued and generate less craving than tobacco cigarette puffs for dual users. The data provide clear support for the utility of Choice Behavior Under Cued Conditions for examining a range of motivational processes supporting e-cigarette use.
The test procedure used in this research generates multiple indices of nicotine and tobacco motivation and allows for an explicit comparison of those variables in people who use both e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes.
多达 24%的电子烟（e-cigarette）使用者同时使用烟草和电子烟（双重使用者）。双重使用者为评估支持电子烟使用的关键动机过程提供了机会，例如电子烟的奖励价值。本研究使用条件线索下的选择行为程序来检查对烟草和电子烟的特定线索反应，主要侧重于评估两种香烟形式的相对奖励价值。
54 名双重使用者在多次试验中暴露于点燃的烟草香烟、他们自己的电子烟或一杯水。在每次试验中，参与者评估他们对烟草和电子烟的渴望程度，并表明他们愿意花费多少钱来获取线索。主要措施包括渴望程度、获取线索的花费金额、获取线索的延迟时间、选择时间和消费。
参与者报告说，与水试验相比，他们对烟草和电子烟试验的渴望程度明显更高，花费的钱也明显更多。对烟草和电子烟的特定线索的渴望程度相当，但参与者为获取烟草香烟而花费的钱明显多于电子烟。
这是第一项利用中性比较条件证明电子烟特定线索反应的研究，并检查电子烟相对于烟草香烟的奖励价值。总体而言，数据表明，对于双重使用者来说，电子烟的抽吸价值低于烟草香烟，产生的渴望也低于烟草香烟。这些数据清楚地支持了在条件线索下的选择行为程序用于检查支持电子烟使用的一系列动机过程的效用。
本研究中使用的测试程序产生了多种尼古丁和烟草动机的指标，并允许在同时使用电子烟和烟草香烟的人群中对这些变量进行明确比较。
