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Introduction People who metabolize nicotine more quickly are generally less successful at quitting smoking. However, the mechanisms that link individual differences in the nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR), a phenotypic biomarker of the rate of nicotine clearance, to smoking outcomes are unclear. We tested the hypotheses that higher NMR is associated with greater smoking reinforcement, general craving, and cue-induced cigarette craving in a treatment-seeking sample. Methods Participants were 252 adults who smoke cigarettes enrolled in a randomized controlled smoking cessation trial (NCT03262662) conducted in Buffalo, New York, USA. Participants completed the Choice Behavior Under Cued Conditions (CBUCC) paradigm, a laboratory choice procedure, ~1 week before the first cessation treatment visit, at which time a saliva sample was collected for NMR assessment. On each CBUCC trial, participants reported cigarette craving during cue presentation (cigarette, water) and spent $0.01–$0.25 for a chance (5%–95%) to sample the cue (one puff, sip), providing measures of smoking reinforcement (spending for cigarettes vs. water), general cigarette craving (averaged across cigarette and water cues), and cue-specific craving (cigarette craving during cigarette vs. water cues). Results As observed in prior work, the NMR was significantly higher among White and female participants. As expected, both spending and cigarette craving were significantly greater on cigarette compared to water trials. However, contrary to our hypotheses, higher NMR was not associated with greater smoking reinforcement, general craving, or cue-specific craving. Conclusions The present data do not support that smoking reinforcement or craving is related to nicotine metabolism among individuals seeking to quit smoking. Implications Though greater smoking reinforcement, general craving, and cue-specific craving are hypothesized to be linked to faster nicotine metabolism, there was no evidence of such relationships in the present sample of adults seeking to quit smoking. Further research, including replication and consideration of alternate hypotheses, is warranted to elucidate the mechanisms by which the NMR is related to smoking cessation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Little is known about patterns of dual use of tobacco and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), especially regarding the factors that lead people to choose either product in particular situations. Identifying contextual factors that are associated with product use would enhance understanding of the maintenance of dual product use. Methods Individuals who dual use (N  = 102) completed ecological momentary assessment surveys via text message regarding the recent use of tobacco and e-cigarettes for 2 weeks. Product legality, availability, craving, the presence of other people who smoke/vape, and social disapproval were assessed. Data were analyzed using hierarchical logistic regression to identify factors associated with the likelihood of tobacco versus e-cigarette use. Results Contexts associated with increased likelihood of using tobacco rather than e-cigarettes included being in the presence of other people who smoke (odds ratio [OR] = 3.50, p  < .0001) and experiencing elevated tobacco cigarette craving (OR = 3.51, p  < .0001). Decreased likelihood of tobacco over e-cigarette use was associated with smoking restrictions (OR = 0.26, p  = .003), the presence of other people who vape (OR = 0.38, p  < .001), and experiencing elevated e-cigarette craving (OR = 0.23, p  < .0001). The legality of e-cigarettes, social disapproval, and the availability of the alternative product were not significantly associated with the use of one product over the other. An individual difference score of relative tobacco (vs. e-cigarette) use pattern did not significantly moderate these effects. Conclusions This study provided essential information regarding behavioral patterns of dual use, which informs our understanding of people who dual use. Contexts such as smoking restrictions, craving, and social context significantly differentiated between the use of tobacco and e-cigarettes. This suggests product-specific motivations for dual use of tobacco and e-cigarettes in people who use both. Implications This study assessed the relationship between momentary contextual factors and dual use in a nationally recruited sample of people who dual use. Assessments of dual use in daily life provided novel information regarding patterns of dual use as well as differential use-motivations for each product. This information will be essential to build a theoretical framework of dual use of tobacco and e-cigarettes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) methods are increasingly used by translational scientists to study real-world behavior and experience. The ability to draw meaningful conclusions from EMA research depends upon participant compliance with assessment completion. Most EMA studies provide financial compensation for compliance, but little empirical evidence addresses the impact of reinforcement parameters on the level of compliance. The purpose of this study-within-a-trial was to determine the effects of varying the amount and frequency of reinforcement on EMA compliance in a clinical sample of individuals seeking treatment for cigarette smoking. In the parent clinical trial, participants were asked to complete 9 weeks of EMA (1 daily Morning Assessment and 4 daily Random Assessments). Following a 5-week Standard Payment phase for EMA compliance, 61 individuals seeking treatment for cigarette smoking enrolled in the larger clinical trial were randomized to receive Standard ($1 per assessment, paid biweekly), Frequent ($1 per assessment, paid 3 times per week), or Large ($2 per assessment, paid biweekly) payments for EMA compliance during a 4-week Payment Manipulation Phase. Overall, receiving Frequent or Large payments did not improve EMA compliance compared to Standard payments, P s > .30. Varying frequency and amount of remuneration for EMA compliance did not generally improve compliance in an ongoing clinical trial, raising further questions about the importance of reinforcement parameters in promoting EMA compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; R. L. Spitzer, K. Kroenke, J. B. W. Williams, & The Patient Health Questionnaire Primary Care Study Group, 1999), modified to ask about the worst period of depression lifetime, was validated against lifetime mood disorder diagnoses established by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID; M. B. First, R. L. Spitzer, M. Gibbon, & J. B. W. Williams, 2001) in 526 participants. PHQ-9 dichotomous scores corresponded highly with major depressive episode (MDE) Criterion A, MDE, and major depressive disorder (MDD), odds ratios = 9.5, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) = 0.84. The continuous scale score was higher in participants who did (M = 17.14, SD = 7.36) than in those who did not (M = 6.05, SD = 6.29) meet MDE Criterion A, t(524) = 18.09, p less than 0.001; was correlated with number of MDE Criterion A symptoms, r(525) = 0.67, p less than 0.001; and detected MDE Criterion A (AUC = 0.88). The PHQ-9 as a lifetime measure may be used to complement or replace more costly interview assessments.

Taxometric procedures were used to determine whether nicotine addiction is best conceptualized as a dimensional or a categorical (i.e., taxonic) phenomenon. Using data from the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH; N = 12,467), results from MAMBAC, MAXEIG, and LMODE taxometric analyses provided strong evidence that nicotine addiction has a taxonic latent structure. Members of the addiction taxon, which constituted approximately 48% of those who reported smoking in the past 30 days, consumed a higher number of cigarettes per day, had stronger craving, higher levels of nicotine tolerance, more inflexible smoking patterns, and shorter latencies to smoking their first cigarette on waking compared with nontaxon members. These findings of a distinct addiction taxonic structure were replicated using a 2002 NSDUH sample (N = 12,224). Finally, the predictive validity of the taxon variable was compared with a continuous indicator sum. The taxon accounted for most of the predictive variance in the indicator sum, but the latter generally showed significant predictive power even after controlling for the former. Thus, these smoking variables may have both a categorical and a dimensional structure. Keywords: nicotine addiction, taxometric analysis, cigarette smoking

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2006.05.021 Byline: Jason D. Robinson (a), Paul M. Cinciripini (a), Stephen T. Tiffany (b), Brian L. Carter (a), Cho Y. Lam (a), David W. Wetter (c) Keywords: Nicotine; Gender differences; Startle; Affect; Smoking deprivation Abstract: Men and women may differ in their sensitivity to the mood-modulating properties of nicotine. Male and female adult smokers were exposed to four sessions crossing two nicotine deprivation conditions (12-h deprived vs. nondeprived) with two drug conditions (nicotine vs. placebo nasal spray). Acoustic probes elicited startle eyeblink responses while viewing affective and cigarette-related slides. In-session mood ratings were collected to gauge self-reported negative affect, positive affect, and craving. Nicotine nasal spray reduced startle amplitude in both men and women following 12-h deprivation compared with smoking nondeprivation. During nondeprivation, nicotine nasal spray increased startle amplitude in women compared with placebo spray, whereas no difference was found for men. The startle results suggest that both men and women are responsive to the hedonic properties of nicotine. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 301439, Unit 1330, Houston, TX 77230, United States (b) University of Utah School of Medicine, 410 Chipeta Way, Room 222, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, United States (c) Department of Health Disparities Research, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Unit 125, Houston, TX 77030, United States