Impact of vanilla flavor on nicotine taste, choice, intake, and seeking behaviors.

Rationale: Flavors can alter the orosensory properties of tobacco products. Specifically, flavors can serve as an oral cue for smokeless tobacco products.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the impact of oral vanillin, the principal chemical of vanilla flavor in tobacco products, on nicotine's taste, and nicotine choice, intake, and seeking behaviors.

Chronic oral nicotine exposure decreases aversive taste of nicotine, increases nicotine withdrawal and reinstatement, but cherry flavor does not alter nicotine's effects in adolescent rats.

Although e-cigarette use among youth is recognized as an epidemic, there is limited understanding regarding nicotine's orosensory and chronic use effects in youth, and how fruit e-cigarette flavorings may influence nicotine's effects. We aimed to characterize the orosensory and chronic use effects of nicotine in adolescent rats. We also determined the acute and chronic effects of benzaldehyde, a cherry/berry/almond flavoring, on nicotine's taste, consumption, withdrawal, and reinstatement.

Animal Models to Investigate the Impact of Flavors on Nicotine Addiction and Dependence.

Background: Tobacco use in humans is a long-standing public health concern. Flavors are common additives in tobacco and alternative tobacco products, added to mask nicotine's harsh orosensory effects and increase the appeal of these products. Animal models are integral for investigating nicotine use and addiction and are helpful for understanding the effects of flavor additives on the use of nicotine delivery products.