Effect of reducing the nicotine content of cigarettes on cigarette smoking behavior and tobacco smoke toxicant exposure: 2-year follow up

Background and Aims A broadly mandated reduction of the nicotine content (RNC) of cigarettes has been proposed in the United States to reduce the addictiveness of cigarettes, to prevent new smokers from becoming addicted and to facilitate quitting in established smokers. The primary aim of this stud...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Addiction (Abingdon, England) England), 2015-10, Vol.110 (10), p.1667-1675
Main Authors: Benowitz, Neal L., Nardone, Natalie, Dains, Katherine M., Hall, Sharon M., Stewart, Susan, Dempsey, Delia, Jacob III, Peyton
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addiction
Adult
biomarkers
Breath Tests
Carbon Monoxide - analysis
cigarette smoking
Cigarettes
Community care
cotinine
Cotinine - blood
Dependency theory
drug dependence
Female
Humans
Male
Nicotine
Nicotine - administration & dosage
Nicotinic Agonists - administration & dosage
reduction
Smoke
Smoking
Smoking - therapy
Smoking Cessation
Tobacco
Tobacco Products
Tobacco Use Disorder - therapy
U.S.A
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Summary:Background and Aims A broadly mandated reduction of the nicotine content (RNC) of cigarettes has been proposed in the United States to reduce the addictiveness of cigarettes, to prevent new smokers from becoming addicted and to facilitate quitting in established smokers. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether following 7 months of smoking very low nicotine content cigarettes (VLNC), and then returning to their own cigarettes, smokers would demonstrate persistently reduced nicotine intake compared with baseline or quit smoking. Methods In a community‐based clinic 135 smokers not interested in quitting were randomized to one of two groups. A research group smoked their usual brand of cigarettes, followed by five types of research cigarettes with progressively lower nicotine content, each for 1 month, followed by 6 months at the lowest nicotine level (0.5 mg/cigarette) (53 subjects) and then 12 months with no intervention (30 subjects completed). A control group smoked their usual brand for the same period of time (50 subjects at 6 months, 38 completed). Smoking behavior, biomarkers of nicotine intake and smoke toxicant exposure were measured. Results After 7 months smoking VLNC, nicotine intake remained below baseline (plasma cotinine 149 versus 250 ng/ml, P
ISSN:0965-2140
1360-0443
1360-0443
DOI:10.1111/add.12978