Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2023 May 1;246:109786. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.109786. Epub 2023 Jan 25.
Public health officials in the U.S. and New Zealand are considering a reduced nicotine standard for cigarettes to reduce their addictive potential. This study's aim was to evaluate the effects of nicotine reduction on the reinforcing efficacy of cigarettes in adolescents who smoke, which has implications for this policy's potential for success.
Adolescents who smoked cigarettes daily (n = 66; mean age: 18.6) participated in a randomized clinical trial assessing effects of assignment to very low nicotine content (VLNC; 0.4 mg/g nicotine) or normal nicotine content (NNC; 15.8 mg/g nicotine) cigarettes. Hypothetical cigarette purchase tasks were completed at baseline and the end of Week 3 and demand curves fit to the data. Linear regressions estimated effects of nicotine content on demand for study cigarettes at baseline and Week 3 and associations between baseline demand for cigarette consumption at Week 3.
An extra sum of squares F-test of fitted demand curves indicated that demand (α) was more elastic among VLNC participants at baseline and Week 3 (F(2, 1016)= 35.72, p < 0.001). Adjusted linear regressions indicated demand was more elastic (ß= 1.45, p < 0.01) and maximum expenditure (O) lower (ß= -1.42, p-0.03) among VLNC participants at Week 3. More elastic demand for study cigarettes at baseline predicted lower consumption of cigarettes at Week 3 (p's < 0.01).
A nicotine reduction policy may reduce the reinforcing value of combustible cigarettes among adolescents. Future work should investigate likely responses to such a policy among youth with other vulnerabilities and evaluate the potential for substitution to other nicotine containing products.
美国和新西兰的公共卫生官员正在考虑降低香烟中的尼古丁标准，以降低其成瘾潜力。本研究旨在评估尼古丁减少对吸烟青少年香烟强化效果的影响，这对该政策的成功潜力有影响。
每天吸烟的青少年（n=66；平均年龄：18.6 岁）参与了一项随机临床试验，评估分配到极低尼古丁含量（VLNC；0.4mg/g 尼古丁）或正常尼古丁含量（NNC；15.8mg/g 尼古丁）香烟对青少年的影响。在基线和第 3 周结束时完成了假设的香烟购买任务，并拟合数据的需求曲线。线性回归估计了基线和第 3 周时尼古丁含量对研究香烟需求的影响，以及基线时对第 3 周香烟消费需求之间的关系。
拟合需求曲线的额外平方和 F 检验表明，VLNC 参与者在基线和第 3 周时需求（α）更有弹性（F(2,1016)=35.72，p<0.001）。调整后的线性回归表明，VLNC 参与者在第 3 周时需求更有弹性（ß=1.45，p<0.01），最大支出（O）更低（ß=-1.42，p<0.03）。基线时对研究香烟的需求更有弹性，预测第 3 周时香烟消费减少（p<0.01）。
尼古丁减少政策可能会降低青少年对可燃香烟的强化价值。未来的工作应该研究在其他脆弱群体中，青少年对这类政策的可能反应，并评估对其他含尼古丁产品的替代潜力。
