Reducing the relative value of cigarettes: Considerations for nicotine and non-nicotine factors.

Despite notable progress in recent decades, cigarette smoke persists as a leading cause of premature death and preventable disease. To weaken the link between nicotine reinforcement and the toxicity associated with combusted tobacco, the United States Food and Drug Administration is considering a product standard targeting cigarette nicotine content. In this review, we summarize research assessing the potential impacts of reducing nicotine in cigarettes.

The role of subjective responses in electronic cigarette uptake and substitution in adult smokers.

Background: While a majority of cigarette smokers who use electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) choose to continue using cigarettes, completely switching to e-cigarettes is necessary to reduce tobacco-related harm. Whether specific subjective responses to e-cigarettes are associated with extent of smoking reduction and complete switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes is unclear. This study determined whether initial subjective responses to e-cigarettes related to the successful substitution of e-cigarettes for cigarettes and extent of cigarette and e-cigarette use.

Smokers Awareness and Risk Perceptions of Filter Ventilation.

Objectives: The addition of tiny rows of holes in the tipping paper (filter ventilation) of cigarettes allows air to mix with the smoke, which can change risk perceptions. In this study, we examine smokers' knowledge and beliefs about filter ventilation.

Methods: Web-based panel surveys conducted in 2016 and 2017 of current adult cigarette smokers (N = 2355) provided data on awareness and understanding of filter vents in their cigarettes, whether they believed blocking the holes would change the taste of their cigarettes, and their perceptions about their future risk of being diagnosed with lung cancer.

The Impact of Exclusive Use of Very Low Nicotine Cigarettes on Compensatory Smoking: An Inpatient Crossover Clinical Trial.

Background: The FDA is considering a mandated reduction in the nicotine content of cigarettes. Clinical trials have been limited by non-study cigarette use (noncompliance), which could mask compensation. The goal of this study was to assess whether compensation occurs when smokers provided with very low nicotine cigarettes cannot access normal nicotine cigarettes.

Mouth-Level Nicotine Intake Estimates from Discarded Filter Butts to Examine Compensatory Smoking in Low Nicotine Cigarettes.

Background: A mandated reduction in the nicotine content of cigarettes could reduce smoking rate and prevalence. However, one concern is that smokers may compensate by increasing the intensity with which they smoke each cigarette to obtain more nicotine. This study assessed whether smokers engage in compensatory smoking by estimating the mouth-level nicotine intake of low nicotine cigarettes smoked during a clinical trial.