Exposure to Bupropion-SR vs. Placebo is associated with reductions in smoking among persons receiving methadone with no stated interest in smoking cessation.

Smoking is prevalent among individuals receiving methadone treatment. Reducing smoking among this population is needed as smoking is a leading cause of morbidity and preventable death. Smoking cessation interventions for persons receiving medication for opioid use disorder have yielded small changes in abstinence.

Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco as an Outgrowth of the 1988 Surgeon General's Report on Nicotine Addiction: Reflections of the Early Presidents.

Introduction: The Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco began in the United States as a scientific organization "to stimulate the generation and dissemination of new knowledge concerning nicotine and tobacco in all its manifestations." Now in its 30th year, the Society is taking on new challenges in tobacco control, nicotine vaping, product regulation, and public policy.

Aims And Methods: This Review describes the formative years of the Society from the perspective of researchers who were in leadership positions during that time, documenting how biobehavioral and clinical research in the first 10 years was a continuation of the scientific mission of the 1988 United States Surgeon General's Report on Nicotine Addiction and summarizing organizational innovations during each president's term of office.

Bupropion Slow Release vs Placebo With Adaptive Incentives for Cocaine Use Disorder in Persons Receiving Methadone for Opioid Use Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Opioid-stimulant co-use is a common problem with few evidence-based treatments.

Objective: To examine bupropion slow release (SR) enhancement of a tailored abstinence incentive program for stimulant use in persons with opioid use disorder.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This 26-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial with a 4-week follow-up period was conducted at 4 methadone treatment programs in Baltimore, Maryland.

Tobacco use behaviors and views on engaging in clinical trials for tobacco cessation among individuals who experience homelessness.

Background: Clinical trials that include contingency management for smoking cessation have shown promising results for short-term quitting, but none have explored this approach for long-term abstinence in people experiencing homelessness. We designed a clinical trial of an extended contingency management intervention for smoking cessation for people experiencing homelessness. This study has two aims: (1) to explore tobacco use behaviors, and views toward smoking cessation, and (2) to explore factors influencing acceptability of engaging in such a trial in a sample of adult smokers experiencing homelessness.

Factors related to substance use treatment attendance after peer recovery coach intervention in the emergency department.

Introduction: Brief intervention with peer recovery coach support has been used to generate referrals to substance use disorder treatment from the emergency department (ED). This retrospective study evaluated factors associated with successful linkage to treatment following brief intervention in the ED.

Methods: Data were extracted from the electronic health record for patients who were referred to substance use treatment from the ED and for whom follow-up data regarding treatment attendance was available (=666).

Contingency management to promote smoking cessation in people experiencing homelessness: Leveraging the electronic health record in a pilot, pragmatic randomized controlled trial.

Background: Cigarette smoking is disproportionately high among people experiencing homelessness (PEH). Contingency management (CM) is a strategy that has shown considerable efficacy for smoking cessation and has been used in short-term studies of smoking abstinence in PEH. We describe a pilot, pragmatic randomized controlled trial protocol, which leverages an electronic health record (EHR) infrastructure to assess the feasibility and acceptability of an extended CM intervention to improve long-term abstinence in PEH.

Evaluation of real-world outcomes associated with use of a prescription digital therapeutic to treat substance use disorders.

Background And Objectives: Digital therapeutics can expand the reach and fidelity of behavioral treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs). This analysis evaluated real-world engagement and clinical outcomes in patients diagnosed with SUD who were prescribed reSET®, an FDA-authorized prescription digital therapeutic (PDT).

Methods: Patients were prescribed a 12-week PDT comprising 61 therapy lessons (31 "core" and 30 "keep learning" lessons) and contingency management rewards (positive reinforcement message or monetary gift cards) based on lesson completion and negative urine drug screens.

Practical Technology for Expanding and Improving Substance Use Disorder Treatment: Telehealth, Remote Monitoring, and Digital Health Interventions.

The US opioid crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have sparked innovation in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment such that telehealth, remote monitoring, and digital health interventions are increasingly feasible and effective. These technologies can increase SUD treatment access and acceptability, even for nontreatment seeking, remote, and underserved populations, and can be used to reduce health disparities. Overall, digital tools will likely overcome many barriers to delivery of evidence-based behavioral treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy and contingency management, that, along with appropriate medications, constitute the foundation of treatment of SUDs.

Digital delivery of a contingency management intervention for substance use disorder: A feasibility study with DynamiCare Health.

Digital health tools can provide convenient delivery of evidence-based treatments. The DynamiCare Health smartphone app delivers a contingency management intervention for substance use disorder consisting of remote self-testing for alcohol (breath) and drugs (saliva) with remote test validation and delivery of financial incentives for negative test results. This study examined feasibility, engagement (duration and consistency of app utilization), and impact on usual care treatment participation when a community substance use treatment program implemented this digital therapy among its patients.

Self-efficacy as a mediator of patient navigation interventions to engage persons living with HIV and substance use.

Background: People living with HIV who report substance use (PLWH-SU) face many barriers to care, resulting in an increased risk for poor health outcomes and the potential for ongoing disease transmission. This study evaluates the mechanisms by which Patient Navigation (PN) and Contingency Management (CM) interventions may work to address barriers to care and improve HIV outcomes in this population.

Methods: Mediation analysis was conducted using data from a randomized, multi-site trial testing PN interventions to improve HIV care outcomes among 801 hospitalized PLHW-SU.

An alternative analysis of illicit opioid use during treatment in a randomized trial of extended-release naltrexone versus buprenorphine-naloxone: A per-protocol and completers analysis.

Background: The distinct pharmacological properties and clinical uses of extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) and sublingual buprenorphine-naloxone (BUP-NX) present challenges in analyzing patient outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of a multi-site randomized trial comparing XR-NTX with sublingual BUP-NX treatment for opioid use disorder initiated during inpatient detoxification and continued in outpatient treatment. Urine testing data for non-study opioids from the last 22 weeks of the 24-week trial were analyzed in both a per-protocol sample (n = 474 participants who received at least one dose of medication) and a completers sample (n = 211 participants who received all XR-NTX doses or all BUP-NX prescriptions).

A Randomized and Controlled Acceptability Trial of an Internet-based Therapy among Inpatients with Co-occurring Substance Use and Other Psychiatric Disorders.

Technology-assisted treatment (TAT) holds promise for innovative assessment, prevention, and treatment of substance use disorders (SUD). The widespread access to TAT makes it a potentially cost-effective and inventive option available for delivery in multiple settings. This study assessed acceptability of the web-based Therapeutic Education System (TES) in hospitalized dual diagnosis patients with SUDs and other psychiatric disorders.

Investigating tobacco withdrawal in response to reduced nicotine cigarettes among smokers with opioid use disorder and other vulnerabilities.

Individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) have high prevalence of smoking and poor cessation outcomes. Data suggest that smokers with OUD may experience heightened nicotine reinforcement and more severe tobacco withdrawal compared to smokers without OUD. The Food and Drug Administration is currently considering reducing the nicotine content of cigarettes to reduce smoking prevalence and smoking-related disease.

Response to Reduced Nicotine Content in Vulnerable Populations: Effect of Menthol Status.

Objectives: In this study, we investigated potential effects of being a menthol smoker on response to reduced nicotine content (RNC) cigarettes in smokers especially vulnerable to smoking.

Method: Participants were 169 smokers (61 menthol and 108 non-menthol smokers) with comorbid mental illness, substance use disorder, or socioeconomic disadvantage. Participants completed a double-blind study assessing addiction potential, withdrawal/craving, and compensatory smoking across 4 research cigarettes varying in nicotine content from very low levels to commercial levels (0.

Potential Moderating Effects of Psychiatric Diagnosis and Symptom Severity on Subjective and Behavioral Responses to Reduced Nicotine Content Cigarettes.

Introduction: Given FDA's authority to implement a cigarette nicotine reduction policy, possible outcomes of this regulation must be examined, especially among those who may be most affected, such as those with comorbid psychiatric disorders.

Methods: In this secondary analysis of a multisite, randomized, clinical laboratory study, we used analyses of variance to examine the effects of nicotine dose (0.4, 2.

Examining effects of unit price on preference for reduced nicotine content cigarettes and smoking rate.

Cigarette preference increases as a function of greater nicotine content, but manipulating cost can shift preference. The aims of the present study are to model whether (1) the behavioral-economic metric unit price (cost/reinforcer magnitude) accounts for preference shifts and (2) whether preference shifts toward reduced nicotine content are associated with smoking reductions. In a multisite study between 2015 and 2016, 169 daily smokers from vulnerable populations completed two concurrent-choice conditions examining preference for smoking normal (15.

Enhancing patient navigation with contingent financial incentives for substance use abatement in persons with HIV and substance use.

Substance use can interfere with HIV treatment. A previous multisite clinical trial (Metsch et al., 2016) tested 2 behavioral interventions designed to improve treatment engagement in people with comorbid HIV and drug or heavy alcohol use.

Potential Moderating Effects of Sex/Gender on the Acute Relative Reinforcing and Subjective Effects of Reduced Nicotine Content Cigarettes in Vulnerable Populations.

Introduction: Reports in relatively healthy smokers suggest men are more sensitive than women to the subjective effects of reduced nicotine content cigarettes (RNCCs). We know of no reports examining sex differences in the relative reinforcing effects of RNCCs, an important outcome in assessing smoking's addiction potential. The aim of the present study is to address this gap by examining sex/gender differences on reinforcing effects while examining whether sex differences in subjective effects are discernible in vulnerable populations.

Evaluating the utility of the modified cigarette evaluation questionnaire and cigarette purchase task for predicting acute relative reinforcing efficacy of cigarettes varying in nicotine content.

Background: Nicotine is the addictive component in cigarettes that maintain cigarette smoking that subsequently leads to morbidity and mortality. Methods for assessing the abuse liability of cigarettes are essential to inform new tobacco product standards. This secondary analysis evaluated the utility of one subjective effects measure, the modified Cigarette Evaluation Questionnaire (mCEQ), and one behavioral economic task, the Cigarette Purchase Task (CPT), for predicting acute relative reinforcing efficacy measured by concurrent choice Self-Administration (SA).

Response to reduced nicotine content cigarettes among smokers with chronic health conditions.

Individuals with chronic health conditions persist in smoking despite the presence of smoking-related illness. The aim of this study was to examine whether chronic health conditions moderate response to reduced nicotine content cigarettes (0.4, 2.

How patient navigators view the use of financial incentives to influence study involvement, substance use, and HIV treatment.

Background And Aims: While patient navigation has been shown to be an effective approach for linking persons to HIV care, and contingency management is effective at improving substance use-related outcomes, Project HOPE combined these two interventions in a novel way to engage HIV-positive patients with HIV and substance use treatment. The aims of this paper are to examine patient navigator views regarding how contingency management interacted with and affected their navigation process.

Design: Semi-structured qualitative interviews.

Enhancing Patient Navigation with Contingent Incentives to Improve Healthcare Behaviors and Viral Load Suppression of Persons with HIV and Substance Use.

This secondary analysis compares health behavior outcomes for two groups of HIV+ substance users randomized in a 3-arm trial [1] to receive Patient Navigation with (PN+CM) or without (PN) contingent financial incentives (CM). Mean age of participants was 45 years; the majority was male (67%), African American (78%), unemployed (35%), or disabled (50%). Behaviors incentivized for PN+CM were (1) attendance at HIV care visits and (2) verification of an active HIV medication prescription.

The effect of high-dose dronabinol (oral THC) maintenance on cannabis self-administration.

Background: There is a clear need for advancing the treatment of cannabis use disorders. Prior research has demonstrated that dronabinol (oral THC) can dose-dependently suppress cannabis withdrawal and reduce the acute effects of smoked cannabis. The present study was conducted to evaluate whether high-dose dronabinol could reduce cannabis self-administration among daily users.

Response to reduced nicotine content cigarettes among smokers differing in tobacco dependence severity.

This study examines whether tobacco dependence severity moderates the acute effects of reducing nicotine content in cigarettes on the addiction potential of smoking, craving/withdrawal, or smoking topography. Participants (N = 169) were daily smokers with mild, moderate, or high tobacco-dependence severity using the Heaviness of Smoking Index. Following brief abstinence, participants smoked research cigarettes varying in nicotine content (0.

Preliminary validity of the modified Cigarette Evaluation Questionnaire in predicting the reinforcing effects of cigarettes that vary in nicotine content.

Validity studies evaluating self-report measures in relation to behavioral preference of cigarettes varying in nicotine content are needed. The current study examined the relationship between ratings on the modified Cigarette Evaluation Questionnaire (mCEQ) and the relative reinforcing effects of Spectrum research cigarettes (15.8, 5.