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Following the homicide of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, young adults participated widely in national protests against racism and police brutality. This study examined temporal trends and correlates of self-reported distress about police brutality from May 18 to August 3, 2020 among a cohort of young adults (ages 19-22; N = 2,080) from Los Angeles, CA. Bivariate and adjusted linear regression models estimated the association between survey completion date and distress about police brutality. Distress about police brutality increased substantially in the 2-weeks after Floyd's death (43% increase over baseline), but gradually declined over the ensuing 8 weeks to a 19% increase over baseline. Results suggest that police violence is contributing to stress and worry among young adults.

ObjectiveTreatment seeking for smoking cessation has tremendous clinical implications with the potential to reduce tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. The present study seeks to elucidate clinical variables that distinguish treatment seeking versus non-treatment seeking status for smoking cessation in a large sample of heavy drinking smokers using data-driven methods.Materials and methodsThis secondary data analysis examines n = 911 (n = 267 female) individuals who were daily smokers and heavy drinkers (≥ 7 drinks per week for women, ≥ 14 for men) that were enrolled in either a treatment-seeking study (N = 450) or a non-treatment seeking study (N = 461) using identical pharmacotherapies. Participants completed measures of demographics, alcohol and cigarette use, alcohol craving, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), and the Wisconsin Inventory of Smoking Dependence Motives (WISDM-68). These measures were used in a random forest model to identify predictors of treatment seeking status.ResultsThe top variables of importance in identifying treatment seeking status were: age, drinks per drinking day, cigarettes per smoking day, BIS-11 cognitive impulsivity, WISDM social environmental goads, WISDM loss of control, WISDM craving, and WISDM tolerance. Age and drinks per drinking day were two of the most robust predictors, followed by measures of nicotine craving and tolerance.ConclusionIndividuals who are daily smokers and consume more drinks per drinking day are less likely to belong to the smoking cessationtreatment-seeking group. Targeting heavy drinking smokers, particularly younger individuals, may be necessary to engage this group in smoking cessation efforts and to reduce the burden of disease of nicotine dependence earlier in the lifespan.

Oral nicotine pouches may appeal to young adult current nicotine/tobacco users interested in alternative forms of nicotine that lack pulmonary exposure, but may also appeal to young adult non-users of nicotine/tobacco products. We used data from a 2020 remote digital survey of an ongoing cohort study of young adults from Southern California (aged 19-23) to examine differences in pouch perceptions and use willingness across nicotine/tobacco use statuses. Participants who had never used nicotine pouches (N = 1167) viewed text/imagery from mass-marketed pouch packaging and advertising, then completed measures of willingness to use nicotine pouches, pouch harm perceptions, and hypothetical choice of cigarettes or e-cigarettes over pouches. Willingness to use pouches was significantly higher among non-combustible only (33.8%), combustible only (29.3%), and dual (43.9%) users than non-users (14.7%). Overall, 49.1% of participants were uncertain whether pouches were less harmful than cigarettes and 52.4% were uncertain whether pouches were less harmful than e-cigarettes. Relative harm perceptions did not significantly differ by tobacco use status. Those using non-combustible products (either alone or as part of dual use with combustible tobacco) had greater odds than non-users of reporting that they would use e-cigarettes over nicotine pouches. By contrast, all tobacco product user groups reported greater odds than non-users that they would use cigarettes over pouches. In sum, a sizable minority of young adults might be willing to try using nicotine pouches, but most are uncertain about the relative harm of pouches.

E-cigarette use among adolescents and young adults has been associated with adverse respiratory symptoms, including symptoms of asthma and bronchitis. This investigation examined whether such associations differ by primary type of e-cigarette device used. This cross-sectional study included data from four study populations in California and Connecticut, United States, ages 13-21 years (N = 10,483), who self-reported their tobacco use behaviors and health status from 2018 to 2020. Adverse respiratory symptoms were grouped as bronchitis, asthma exacerbation, and shortness of breath. Associations with e-cigarette use were examined by frequency of e-cigarette use (regardless of device type) and most-frequently use device type in the past 30 days (pod, pen/tank, disposable, or mod). Multivariable modeling accounted for demographic variables and use of other tobacco and cannabis. Results were pooled at the study level via random-effects meta-analysis. Across the four studies, e-cigarette use >5 days/month versus never use was associated with bronchitic symptoms (summary odds ratio, sOR: 1.56; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.37, 1.77) and shortness of breath (sOR: 1.68; 95% CI: 1.35, 2.08) but not statistically significantly with asthma exacerbations (sOR: 1.36; 95% CI; 0.95, 1.95). Among past 30-day e-cigarette users, associations with respiratory symptoms did not differ by device type. In these populations, e-cigarette use was positively associated with symptoms of bronchitis and shortness of breath, but adjusted odds of symptoms did not differ meaningfully by device type. These findings suggest that risk of these respiratory outcomes is elevated among more frequent e-cigarette users regardless of device type used.

BackgroundThis study investigated the acute effects of exposure to pod-style e-cigarettes on subjective, behavioral, and physiological outcomes indicative of the potential to encourage vaping-naïve smokers to switch to e-cigarettes.MethodsIn a within-subject experiment, never-vaping adult smokers interested in trying e-cigarettes (n = 24) completed 4 laboratory visits following 16-hr tobacco abstinence. Visits involved controlled puffing from preferred brand cigarettes (OwnCig) or a standardized pod-style e-cigarette with either no nicotine (NoNic), nicotine freebase (NicFreebase; 0.5% nicotine concentration), or nicotine salt (NicSalt E-Cig; 2.8% concentration) solutions. Outcomes included smoking urge, mood, user experience, plasma nicotine, and a behavioral task assessing ability to delay smoking.ResultsNoNic, NicFreebase, and NicSalt pod-style e-cigarettes were significantly less effective than OwnCig at reducing smoking urge and increasing plasma nicotine, positive affect, satisfying user experience ratings, and ability to delay smoking on the behavioral task. Differences among pod-style e-cigarette conditions were limited to: (a) NicFreebase (vs. NoNic) preferentially suppressed participants' urge to smoke to alleviate negative mood, (b) NicFreebase (vs. NicSalt) slightly preferentially increased plasma nicotine; and (c) NicFreebase and NicSalt (vs. NoNic) produced higher aversive user experience ratings.ConclusionsIn tobacco deprived smokers' initial vaping experience, controlled administration of certain pod-style e-cigarettes with 0.5% NicFreebase or 2.8% NicSalt may be deficient comparators to cigarettes in terms of their capacity to acutely improve mood, deliver nicotine, suppress smoking motivation, and offer a satisfying user experience. Future research is needed to test pod-style e-cigarettes with higher nicotine doses and confirm whether NicFreebase vs. NicSalt enhances nicotine absorption.

Background: Vaping among young adults (YA) has been associated with adverse respiratory health outcomes. However, key gaps remain in the literature including perspectives from YA vapers on perceived respiratory health symptoms since vaping, how they describe those symptoms and related experiences, and factors to which they attribute their respiratory health symptoms. Methods: Participants (N = 35) were 18-25 years old and self-reported as currently vaping at least once per week. In-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted using an open-ended interview guide designed to elicit respondents' subjective vaping-related experiences. We used a thematic analysis to interpret the transcripts. Results: Participants reported adverse respiratory health symptoms (e.g., phlegm, cough, pain in lungs) that some attributed to vaping. Participants compared what is known about vaping to what is known about combustible cigarettes and described continued use of vaping products despite perceived adverse respiratory health consequences. Some participants attributed their symptoms to preexisting medical conditions (e.g., asthma) and to heavy vaping. Some described a decline in exercise-related endurance since vaping. Some participants also reported that they experienced worse respiratory symptoms when using specific brands and products (e.g., JUUL and nicotine salt formulation). Conclusions: This study provides powerful accounts from YA vapers about their experience of respiratory health symptoms that they ascribe to vaping. Future research is needed to evaluate the prevalence and severity, as well as the risk and protective factors, of adverse respiratory health symptoms associated with vaping. Addiction prevention and treatment efforts for YA vapers may help curtail adverse respiratory health impact from vaping.

ObjectivePharmacological treatments that can concomitantly address cigarette smoking and heavy drinking stand to improve health care delivery for these highly prevalent co-occurring conditions. This superiority trial compared the combination of varenicline and naltrexone against varenicline alone for smoking cessation and drinking reduction among heavy-drinking smokers.MethodsThis was a phase 2 randomized double-blind clinical trial. Participants (N=165) who were daily smokers and drank heavily received either 2 mg/day of varenicline plus 50 mg/day of naltrexone or 2 mg/day of varenicline plus matched placebo pills for 12 weeks. Primary outcomes were 7-day point prevalence of nicotine abstinence (bioverified by a breath CO reading ≤5 ppm) at the 26-week follow-up and number of drinks per drinking day during the 12-week treatment phase.ResultsSmoking abstinence at week 26 was significantly higher in the varenicline plus placebo condition than in the varenicline plus naltrexone condition (N=37 [45.1%] compared with N=22 [26.5%]). For drinks per drinking day, there was a medication effect favoring the combination of varenicline and naltrexone over varenicline alone across the 12-week treatment phase, although it did not meet the significance threshold.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that smoking cessation and drinking reduction can be concomitantly targeted with pharmacotherapy and that while varenicline alone may be sufficient as a smoking cessation aid in heavy-drinking smokers, the combination of varenicline and naltrexone may confer benefits with regard to drinking outcomes, particularly during the 12-week period of active medication treatment.

Background and aimsFrequent experiences of discrimination could increase vulnerability to tobacco withdrawal and smoking lapse in populations subject to tobacco-related health disparities. This laboratory study (2013-17) examined whether individual differences in perceived exposure to discrimination in one's daily life predicted tobacco withdrawal symptoms and smoking lapse behavior following acute tobacco deprivation in African American smokers.DesignMixed design with the between-subjects continuous variable of perceived discrimination crossed with the within-subject variable of tobacco deprivation status (deprived versus non-deprived).SettingAcademic medical center in Los Angeles, CA, USA.ParticipantsAfrican American non-treatment seeking daily cigarette smokers (n = 607, ≥ 10 cig/day).MeasurementsAt a baseline visit, self-reported frequency of perceived exposure to discrimination in one's daily life was measured [everyday discrimination scale (EDDS)]. At two subsequent counterbalanced experimental visits (16-hour tobacco deprivation versus ad-libitum smoking), self-report assessments of various tobacco withdrawal symptom domains [Brief Questionnaire of Smoking Urges), Wisconsin Smoking Withdrawal Scale (WSWS), Profile of Mood States (POMS), Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) and Current Impulsivity Scale (CIS)) and a behavioral smoking lapse analogue task were measured.FindingsAdjusted models demonstrated that greater frequency of perceived exposure to discrimination was associated with larger deprivation-induced increases in acute urges to smoke to alleviate negative mood, several negative mood states and subjective cognitive functioning-effect sizes were small in magnitude (βs = 0.09-0.13; Ps

Anxiety sensitivity (AS)-fearfulness of anxiety symptoms-has been implicated in the etiology of emotional disorders (e.g., depressive and anxiety disorders) and linked to cigarette smoking and other substance use (SU). However, studies examining AS in relation to SU primarily have been conducted with racially/ethnically heterogeneous or mostly European American samples. Hence, this cross-sectional study involving secondary analysis of baseline data focused on investigating associations of AS with cigarette smoking and other SU in a sample of 630 non-treatment-seeking African American smokers (37.3% female; M age = 49.6 years; M cigarettes smoked per day = 15.4). After screening out individuals with non-nicotine substance dependence, participants reported their demographics, AS, dysphoria symptoms (i.e., depression and anxiety symptoms), and SU. In regression analyses controlling for dysphoria symptoms, age, education level, income level, and years of regular smoking, AS was positively associated with tobacco withdrawal severity (β = .12, p = .007), overall smoking motives (β = .17, p < .001), alcohol use problems (β = .12, p = .005), and other (non-nicotine, nonalcohol) SU problems (β = .16, p < .001). Though lacking the passage of time between assessments needed to provide strong evidence of mediation, unplanned analyses further revealed indirect associations of AS with several SU variables through dysphoria symptoms. Current findings are consistent with those found in prior samples and suggest that AS is similarly related to SU in African Americans, who may benefit from interventions that have been helpful in improving AS, dysphoria symptoms, and SU in other groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The 1st cigarette of the day is strongly tied to tobacco dependence. However, prior research has not investigated whether within-subject (WS) day-to-day fluctuations in prefirst-cigarette affect are associated with the subjective effects from the 1st cigarette of the day or whether these associations differ by smokers' average prefirst-cigarette affect. In the current study, 85 premenopausal female daily smokers completed baseline measures and 35 days of ecological momentary assessment. Prefirst-cigarette positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) were assessed prior to the 1st cigarette of the day and were partitioned into between-subjects (BS) and WS variables. Pleasurable and NA relief effects were assessed following the 1st cigarette of the day. On days when women reported higher than their usual prefirst-cigarette PA (WS-PA), they reported more pleasurable effects. On days when women reported higher than their usual prefirst-cigarette WS-NA, they reported greater pleasurable effects and NA relief effects. Women with higher average prefirst-cigarette NA relative to others (BS-NA), reported greater NA relief effects. Women with higher average prefirst-cigarette PA relative to others (BS-PA) reported greater pleasurable and NA relief effects from smoking. The association of within-subject affect (i.e., that day's level of NA or PA) with NA relief effects is attenuated in female smokers with higher average prefirst-cigarette NA (i.e., Prefirst-Cigarette WS Affect × Prefirst-Cigarette BS-NA interaction). Results suggest that prefirst-cigarette affect may impact the subjective effects from the 1st cigarette of the day and that the association between prefirst-cigarette affect and NA relief effects may be dampened in women with greater average precigarette NA. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

RationaleNicotine patches may be less effective in female compared with male smokers. However, it is unknown if negative affect and physical symptoms influence transdermal nicotine patch-related effects on smoking behaviors.MethodsEighty-one acutely tobacco-abstinent premenopausal female smokers attended three counter-balanced experimental sessions across the menstrual cycle (early follicular, late follicular, and mid-luteal) and were randomized to patch condition (nicotine [21 mg] vs. placebo [0 mg] transdermal patch). Negative affect and physical symptoms were assessed prior to patch administration. The patch was removed 5 h post-administration, and participants completed a smoking reinstatement task. Multilevel linear models tested associations of patch condition, negative affect and physical symptoms, and their interaction on smoking behavior.ResultsThere was a significant patch condition × Negative Affect and Pain symptoms interaction on the number of cigarettes smoked (p

Theoretically, anxiety sensitivity-fear of anxiety symptoms-enhances perception of and emotional reactivity to autonomic arousal and mental distress, thereby increasing negative affect and motivation to use substances for negative reinforcement. Because no prior study of adolescents has tested if anxiety sensitivity is indirectly associated with substance use problems through symptoms of emotional disorders (i.e., disorders involving high levels of negative affect), the current cross-sectional study examined this theoretical pathway. Participants included ninth-grade students from 10 different high schools in the Los Angeles metropolitan area (N = 3005; 54.3% female). Self-report measures of anxiety sensitivity, emotional disorder symptoms, tobacco dependence, and alcohol and other drug problems were administered. Controlling for sex, race/ethnicity, parental education, school, and impulsiveness, we tested the associations of anxiety sensitivity with tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use problems as well as the indirect effects of anxiety sensitivity on each domain of substance use problems through emotional disorder symptoms. Anxiety sensitivity was associated with more severe tobacco dependence and greater alcohol problems and other drug problems, and anxiety sensitivity further was indirectly associated with all three domains of substance use problems through emotional disorder symptoms. Current findings suggest that adolescents high in anxiety sensitivity tend to experience emotional disorder symptoms, which may increase risk for substance use problems. Interventions that target anxiety sensitivity and enhance negative-affect coping skills may assist in preventing and reducing adolescent substance use problems.

A massive portion of cancer burden is accounted for by a small collection of highly prevalent cancer risk behaviors (e.g., low physical activity, unhealthy diet, and tobacco use). Why people engage in numerous types of cancer risk behaviors and fail to adopt various cancer prevention behaviors has been poorly understood. In this commentary, we propose a novel scientific framework, which argues that a common affective (i.e., emotion based) mechanism underpins a diversity of such cancer risk and prevention behaviors. The scientific premise is that cancer risk and prevention behaviors produce immediate and robust changes in affective states that are translated into motivations and drives, which promote further pursuit of risk behaviors or avoidance of prevention behaviors. After describing the conceptual and scientific basis for this framework, we then propose central research questions that can address the validity and utility of the framework. Next, we selectively review and integrate findings on the mood-altering effects of various cancer risk and prevention behaviors from the addiction science, exercise science, and behavioral nutrition literatures, focusing on the nature and phenomenology of behavior-elicited mood changes and their value for predicting future behavior change. We conclude by discussing how this framework can be applied to address critical scientific questions in cancer control.

Experimental evidence suggests that females (vs. males) may be more sensitive to and derive greater reinforcement from the sensory aspects of combustible cigarette smoking (e.g., flavor, taste). However, it is unknown if there are similar sex differences in the appeal of flavored e-cigarettes. Young adult male (N = 65) and female (N = 35) e-cigarette users (mean age = 25.4; 53% current smokers) attended 1 laboratory session in which they self-administered standardized e-cigarette doses according to a Flavor (fruit vs. tobacco vs. menthol) × Nicotine (6 mg/mL vs. 0 mg/mL) × Voltage (3.3 V vs. 4.3 V) within-participant fully crossed factorial design. Following each trial, participants completed ratings of appeal (mean of liking, disliking [reverse scored], and willingness-to-use-again ratings). Sex was tested as a between-subjects moderator of the effects of flavor on appeal. There was a significant interaction between sex and flavor for e-cigarette appeal (p < .001). In males, fruit-flavored e-cigarettes generated greater appeal than menthol and tobacco (ps < .001). In females, both fruit- and menthol-flavored e-cigarettes generated greater appeal than tobacco (ps < .001), but there was no significant difference between fruit- and menthol-flavored e-cigarettes (p = .40). The findings of this study suggest that males prefer fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, and females prefer both menthol- and fruit-flavored e-cigarettes. The impact of regulatory policies targeting e-cigarette flavors in the population may vary by sex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

BackgroundLimited research among adolescents and young adults (AYA) has assessed tobacco and marijuana co-use in light of specific products. We examined the patterns of past 30-day co-use of tobacco and marijuana products, and the product-specific associations among past 30-day use of these substances.MethodsData from three school-based convenience samples of California AYA (aged 15-22) (Sample 1 = 3008; Sample 2 = 1419; Sample 3 = 466) were collected during 2016-2017. Proportions of past 30-day co-use of tobacco (e-cigarettes, cigarettes, hookah, cigars) and marijuana (combustible, vaporized, edible, blunt) were estimated. Multivariable logistic regression analyses examined associations between use of each tobacco and marijuana product for individual samples, then the pooled analysis calculated combined ORs.ResultsIn the three samples, 7.3-11.3% of participants reported past 30-day co-use. Combinations of e-cigarettes or cigarettes and combustible marijuana were the most common co-use patterns. Past 30-day use of e-cigarettes or cigarettes (vs. non-use) increased the odds of past 30-day use of all marijuana products [e-cigarettes: ORs (95%CI) ranging from 2.5 (1.7, 3.2) for edible marijuana to 4.0 (2.8, 5.2) for combustible marijuana; cigarettes: from 3.2 (2.1, 4.2) for vaporized marijuana to 5.5 (3.8, 7.3) for combustible marijuana]. Past 30-day use of hookah or cigars was positively associated with past 30-day use of three of four marijuana products, except for hookah and vaporized marijuana, and for cigars and combustible marijuana.ConclusionsGiven various co-use patterns and significant associations among tobacco and marijuana products, interventions targeting AYA should address co-use across the full spectrum of specific products for both substances.

ObjectivesElectronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are available in nontraditional flavors (eg, fruit and candy) that are banned in combustible cigarettes in the United States. Whether adolescent use of e-cigarettes in nontraditional flavors prospectively predicts continuation of vaping and progression to more frequent vaping is unknown.MethodsHigh school students in Los Angeles, California, completed 5 semiannual surveys (2014-2017 [10th grade to 12th grade]). Among past-6-month e-cigarette users at survey waves 1 to 4 (N = 478), e-cigarette flavor (or flavors) used was coded into 2 mutually exclusive categories at each wave (use of ≥1 nontraditional flavors [fruit, candy, sweet or dessert, buttery, blends or combinations, and other] versus exclusive use of tobacco, menthol or mint, or flavorless). Flavor used during waves 1 to 4 was modeled as a time-varying, time-lagged regressor of vaping status and frequency outcomes 6 months later at waves 2 to 5.ResultsAcross waves 1 to 4, there were 739 (93.8%) observations of nontraditional-flavor use and 49 (6.2%) observations of exclusive use of tobacco, mint or menthol, or flavorless e-cigarettes. Use of e-cigarettes in nontraditional flavors (versus only tobacco, mint or menthol, or flavorless) was positively associated with vaping continuation (64.3% vs 42.9%; adjusted odds ratio = 3.76 [95% confidence interval 1.20 to 10.31]) and past-30-day number of puffs per nicotine vaping episode (mean: 3.1 [SD 5.5] vs 1.5 [SD 3.8]; adjusted rate ratio = 2.41 [95% confidence interval 1.08 to 5.92]) 6 months later. Flavor used was not associated with the subsequent number of past-30-day vaping days or episodes per day.ConclusionsAdolescents who vaped e-cigarettes in nontraditional flavors, compared with those who exclusively vaped tobacco-flavored, mint- or menthol-flavored, or flavorless e-cigarettes, were more likely to continue vaping and take more puffs per vaping occasion 6 months later.

BackgroundE-cigarette regulations targeting products that disproportionately appeal to never-smokers may optimize population health. This laboratory study of young adults tested whether differences in appeal between e-cigarettes with non-tobacco-flavored (vs. tobacco-flavored) and nicotine-containing (vs. nicotine-free) solutions varied by smoking history.MethodsCurrent (N = 53), former (N = 25), and never (N = 22) cigarette smokers who vape (Mean[SD] age = 25.4[4.4] years) administered standardized e-cigarette doses varied by a Flavor (fruit, menthol, tobacco) × Nicotine (nicotine-containing [6 mg/mL], nicotine-free) within-subject double-blind design. Participants rated each dose's appeal (0-100 scale). Covariate-adjusted interactions tested whether smoking history moderated flavor and nicotine effects.ResultsAppeal was higher for fruit and menthol than tobacco flavors in each group. The fruit vs. tobacco appeal difference was greater in never smokers (fruit-tobacco estimate = 19.6) than current smokers (estimate = 12.1) but not former smokers (estimate = 12.6). The menthol vs. tobacco difference was greater in never smokers (menthol-tobacco estimate = 17.3) than former (estimate = 6.0) and current (estimate = 7.2) smokers. Appeal was lower for nicotine-containing than nicotine-free solutions in each group; this difference was greater in never smokers (nicotine-nicotine-free estimate = -17.3) than former (estimate = -7.0) and current (estimate = -10.6) smokers. Compared to tobacco flavors, nicotine's appeal-reducing effects were suppressed by fruit and menthol flavors in never smokers.ConclusionsHigher appeal of non-tobacco-flavored (vs. tobacco-flavored) and lower appeal of nicotine-containing (vs. nicotine-free) e-cigarettes may be widespread in young adults but disproportionately amplified in never smokers. Non-tobacco flavors may suppress nicotine's appeal-lowering qualities in never smokers. The impact of regulating non-tobacco flavors in e-cigarettes may vary by smoking history.

The 1st cigarette of the day is strongly tied to tobacco dependence. However, prior research has not investigated whether within-subject (WS) day-to-day fluctuations in prefirst-cigarette affect are associated with the subjective effects from the 1st cigarette of the day or whether these associations differ by smokers' average prefirst-cigarette affect. In the current study, 85 premenopausal female daily smokers completed baseline measures and 35 days of ecological momentary assessment. Prefirst-cigarette positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) were assessed prior to the 1st cigarette of the day and were partitioned into between-subjects (BS) and WS variables. Pleasurable and NA relief effects were assessed following the 1st cigarette of the day. On days when women reported higher than their usual prefirst-cigarette PA (WS-PA), they reported more pleasurable effects. On days when women reported higher than their usual prefirst-cigarette WS-NA, they reported greater pleasurable effects and NA relief effects. Women with higher average prefirst-cigarette NA relative to others (BS-NA), reported greater NA relief effects. Women with higher average prefirst-cigarette PA relative to others (BS-PA) reported greater pleasurable and NA relief effects from smoking. The association of within-subject affect (i.e., that day's level of NA or PA) with NA relief effects is attenuated in female smokers with higher average prefirst-cigarette NA (i.e., Prefirst-Cigarette WS Affect × Prefirst-Cigarette BS-NA interaction). Results suggest that prefirst-cigarette affect may impact the subjective effects from the 1st cigarette of the day and that the association between prefirst-cigarette affect and NA relief effects may be dampened in women with greater average precigarette NA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

IntroductionPrior studies have found heightened negative affect following tobacco abstinence in women compared to men. However, experimental work addressing whether these findings generalize across racial groups is scarce. This study investigated whether race (non-Hispanic White vs. non-Hispanic African American) moderated gender differences in abstinence-induced negative affect and smoking behavior.MethodsData were collected from 2010 to 2017 from two separate laboratory studies investigating experimentally manipulated tobacco abstinence. Following a baseline session, adult daily smokers (≥10 cigarettes/day; women: n = 297, 83.8% non-Hispanic African American; men: n = 492, 86.2% non-Hispanic African American) attended two counterbalanced lab sessions (16 hours abstinent vs. non-abstinent) and completed self-report measures of negative affect followed by a laboratory analogue smoking reinstatement task.ResultsWe found a gender × race interaction for several negative affect states and composite negative affect (βs = -.12 to -.16, Ps < .05). Analyses stratified by race showed that non-Hispanic White women compared to non-Hispanic White men exhibited greater abstinence-induced increases in anger, anxiety, and composite negative affect (βs = -.20 to -.29, Ps < .05). No significant gender differences in abstinence-induced negative affect were found for non-Hispanic African American smokers (βs = .00 to - .04, Ps > .05).ConclusionThese findings suggest that negative affect during acute tobacco abstinence may be a clinically important and intervenable factor that can inform cessation interventions specifically for non-Hispanic White women smokers. Further empirical exploration of mechanisms underlying interactions of gender and race in tobacco addiction may benefit smoking cessation efforts in non-Hispanic African American women smokers.ImplicationsThis study contributes to a scant body of research examining the intersectional influence of race and gender on abstinence-induced negative affect-a central, motivationally prepotent feature of tobacco withdrawal. Using a laboratory-based design to experimentally manipulate abstinence, we provide evidence of a gender × race interaction on negative affect-related withdrawal. Our findings suggest that gender differences in abstinence-induced negative affect observed among non-Hispanic White smokers may not generalize to non-Hispanic African American smokers, highlighting the need for future work to address potential mechanisms underlying the racially discrepant impact of gender on affective tobacco withdrawal.

African Americans are subject to health disparities in smoking and chronic pain. Given that nicotine has analgesic properties, increases in acute pain may be an expression of the tobacco abstinence syndrome, particularly among African American smokers with chronic pain. This report is a secondary analysis of data from an ongoing study of individual differences in laboratory-derived tobacco abstinence phenotypes in African American smokers. We tested whether overnight smoking abstinence increased acute pain and whether abstinence-induced changes in acute pain were correlated with other expressions of tobacco abstinence and amplified among smokers with chronic pain. African American smokers (N = 214; 10+ cig/day) attended a baseline visit (when chronic pain was reported), and two counterbalanced experimental sessions (ad libitum smoking vs. 16-hr smoking abstinence). At both experimental sessions, measures of self-reported acute pain and other tobacco abstinence symptoms were administered. Smoking abstinence significantly increased acute pain (d = .17, p = .01). Correlations between abstinence-induced changes in acute pain and abstinence-induced changes in negative affect, r = .15, p = .02, smoking urges, r = .13, p = .05, and composite nicotine withdrawal symptoms, r = .13, p = .06, were small and nonsignificant after correction for multiple tests, indicating that phenotypic variation in abstinence-provoked changes in acute pain and other tobacco abstinence expressions were largely independent. Baseline levels of chronic pain predicted greater abstinence-induced pain amplification at experimental sessions (βs = .29-.31; ps < .001). Acute pain is greater following overnight tobacco abstinence (vs. satiation) among African American smokers, predominantly among those with chronic pain. Addressing pain in tobacco addiction science, treatment, and health equity programming warrants consideration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Introduction Detailed estimates of disparities in cigarette smoking across single- and multi-race groups and their intersections with ethnicity are lacking. This study estimates the prevalence of self-reported current smoking among intersecting adult race-ethnicity groups in the United States. Aims and Methods The analysis uses 2018–2019 data from the Tobacco Use Supplement—Current Population Supplement (TUS-CPS; n  = 137 471). Self-reported Hispanic origin and race were recoded into 19 mutually exclusive race-by-ethnicity intersecting groups. Weighted race-ethnicity group smoking prevalence were compared to the overall population prevalence and one another. Results Compared to the U.S. population current smoking prevalence (11.4% [95% CI = 11.2% to 11.6%]), smoking was particularly higher in non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) groups (20.7% [95% CI = 17.8% to 24.0%]) and non-Hispanic multiracial AI/AN/White (24.4% [95% CI = 20.3% to 29.1%]) and AI/AN/Black (22.4% [95% CI = 14.4% to 33.2%]) groups. Non-Hispanic single-race Asian (5.0% [95% CI = 4.4% to 5.6%]) and Hispanic single-race White (7.2% [95% CI = 6.7% to 7.7%]) smoking prevalence undercut the overall U.S. population prevalence. In pairwise comparisons, smoking prevalence was higher in various non-Hispanic single- and multi-race AI/AN groups than non-AI/AN groups and was lower in various Hispanic groups than non-Hispanic groups. Conclusions Smoking prevalence disparities are not monolithic across complex diversity of race and ethnicity in the United States. Accurate identification of priority populations in need of targeted tobacco control efforts may benefit by acknowledging multinomial heterogeneity across intersecting racial and ethnic identities. Implications Understanding racial and ethnic disparities in cigarette smoking can inform national strategies for reducing health inequities. This study examines cigarette smoking disparities among 19 adult intersecting race-ethnicity groups in the United States using the 2018–2019 TUS-CPS data. Results show higher smoking rates in some non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native and Black groups, while lower rates are seen in Asian and Hispanic individuals. These findings emphasize the need for disaggregated data to tackle smoking disparities and guide targeted prevention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To estimate the extent to which drinking to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing pandemic-related life stressors are associated with alcohol use escalation among young adults. Respondents in Los Angeles, CA, USA (N = 2,130) completed prospective cohort study surveys before (baseline; October 2018–November 2019; mean age: 19.7[SD = 0.4]) and during (follow-up; May–August 2020) the COVID-19 outbreak. Past 30-day drinking days and number of drinks per drinking day were assessed from baseline to follow-up. At follow-up, participants reported drinking to cope with social isolation and pandemic-related stressors. Pandemic-related stressor prevalence ranged from 5.5% (evicted/lost home) to 72.6% (worried about education) and 27.1% drank to cope with social isolation during the pandemic. Respondents who did (vs. did not) report pandemic-related coping drinking were more likely to increase past 30-day drinking days and drinks per drinking day from baseline to follow-up after adjustment for possible confounders. Employment loss/reduction, financial problems, and perceived likelihood of contracting COVID-19 or handling the pandemic poorly were each associated with increases in drinking days or drinks per drinking day. Experiencing certain life stressors and drinking to cope with social isolation may be associated with drinking escalation among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to test how deviations in a mother's own parenting stress (PS) levels across her child's transition to adolescence contribute to subsequent changes in her child's internalizing symptom levels. We tested both linear and curvilinear effects, as well as the extent to which a child's perception of his or her mother's attunement alters these links. We further explored whether overall maternal PS levels (relative to the other mothers) further moderate the within-dyad association. These effects were tested in a community sample consisting of 202 mother-child dyads during transition to early adolescence. The dyads were examined within and across six waves, each separated by 6 months. During each wave, the mothers (M[subscript age] at baseline = 40.1 years [SD = 6.1]) reported on their PS, while children (M[subscript age] at baseline = 10.1 years [SD = 0.90]) reported on their internalizing symptoms and their perceived maternal attunement. Multilevel within-dyad analyses revealed a U-shaped effect of mothers' PS on concurrent child symptoms, whereas the prospective association was not significant. Maternal attunement moderated the concurrent effects, changing the tipping point at which the concurrent potential benefits of rising PS were outweighed by the potential negative consequences of overburdening the child. Increases in PS prospectively predicted increased symptoms in the child but not when maternal attunement was above the mothers' average level. Global PS levels did not moderate these effects. The results underscore the contribution made by mothers' PS to the emotional trajectories of their children and show that these effects vary as a function of deviations in maternal attunement.

Introduction:African American (AA) smokers are at disproportionate risk of tobacco dependence, utilizing smoking to regulate stress, and poor cessation outcomes. Positive emotional traits may function as coping factors that buffer the extent to which dependence increases vulnerability to adverse responses to acute tobacco abstinence (ie, tobacco withdrawal). This laboratory study examined subjective happiness (SH; dispositional orientation towards frequent and intense positive affect [PA] and life satisfaction) as a moderator of the relation between tobacco dependence and subjective and behavioral abstinence effects among AA smokers. Methods:AA smokers (N = 420, 39.0% female) completed self-report measures of tobacco dependence and SH followed by two counterbalanced experimental sessions (nonabstinent vs. 16-hour abstinent) involving self-report measures of composite withdrawal, urge to smoke, and mood, and a behavioral smoking task in which participants could: (1) earn money to delay smoking reinstatement, and (2) subsequently purchase cigarettes to smoke. Results:Tobacco dependence was positively associated with increased abstinence effects in composite withdrawal, urge to smoke, PA, and latency to smoking reinstatement (ps < .04). SH significantly moderated the relation between dependence and abstinence-induced increases in composite withdrawal (β = -.17, p < .001), such that the predictive power of dependence on withdrawal severity grew proportionately weaker as levels of SH increased. Conclusions:SH may insulate against adverse effects of dependence on withdrawal during acute smoking abstinence, particularly withdrawal symptom clusters that are craving- and mood-based. Consideration of positive emotional traits as stress-coping factors in the dependence-withdrawal link may be warranted in research and practice with AA smokers. Implications:The current study contributes to a growing body of literature examining the potentially advantageous role of positive emotional traits to smokers. We do so by identifying a relatively understudied psychological construct within tobacco research-subjective happiness-that may suppress the extent to which more severe tobacco dependence increases risk for subjective withdrawal-related distress during acute smoking abstinence in AA smokers. In doing so, the study provides a primer for future targeting of subjective happiness and other positive emotional traits as means to understand and treat acute tobacco abstinence effects among dependent AA smokers.

BackgroundPolytobacco product use is suspected to be common, dynamic across time, and increase risk for adverse behavioral outcomes. We statistically modeled characteristic types of polytobacco use trajectories during mid-adolescence and tested their prospective association with substance use and mental health problems.MethodsAdolescents (N = 3393) in Los Angeles, CA, were surveyed semiannually from 9th to 11th grade. Past 6-month combustible cigarette, e-cigarette, or hookah use (yes/no) over four assessments were analyzed using parallel growth mixture modeling to identify a parsimonious set of polytobacco use trajectories. A tobacco product use trajectory group was used to predict substance use and mental health at the fifth assessment.ResultsThree profiles were identified: (1) tobacco nonusers (N = 2291, 67.5%) with the lowest use prevalence (