Effect of transdermal nicotine replacement on alcohol responses and alcohol self-administration.

Rationale: Nicotine replacement is commonly used to treat tobacco use in heavy-drinking smokers. However, few studies have examined the effect of nicotine replacement on subjective and physiological responses to alcohol and alcohol drinking behavior.

Objective: The primary aim of this within-subject, double-blind study was to examine whether transdermal nicotine replacement (0 mg vs 21 mg/day) altered response to a low-dose priming drink and subsequent ad libitum drinking behavior.

Modeling the effect of alcohol on smoking lapse behavior.

Objective: The primary aim of this project was to examine the role of alcohol use in smoking lapse behavior, as alcohol consumption is a known risk factor for poor smoking cessation outcomes.

Materials And Methods: We have developed a novel human laboratory model to examine two primary aspects of alcohol-mediated tobacco relapse: (1) Does alcohol facilitate the initiation of the first cigarette? (2) Once the first cigarette is initiated, does alcohol facilitate subsequent smoking? Using a within-subject design, 16 daily smokers who were also heavy social drinkers received a priming drink (0.03 g/dl or taste-masked placebo) and then had the option of initiating a tobacco self-administration session or delaying initiation by 5-min increments for up to 50 min in exchange for monetary reinforcement.

Smoking for weight control: effect of priming for body image in female restrained eaters.

Women are more likely than men to believe that smoking helps to control their weight, and this relationship may be more pronounced in those with eating disturbances, such as eating restraint. Restrained eaters have been shown to be more susceptible to media portrayals of idealized body image, like those used in tobacco advertising. The primary aim of this study was to examine the effect of an implicit prime for body image on expectations that smoking can control weight in restrained and non-restrained eaters.