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.

Gender differences in association with substance use diagnoses and smoking.

Alcohol and drug use disorders are highly comorbid with tobacco use. Given the substantial health risks associated with concurrent substance use and smoking, there is a clinical need to identify factors that confer heightened risk for their cause. This investigation examined gender-specific associations between smoking behaviors with current alcohol and drug use diagnoses.

Smoking status as a clinical indicator for alcohol misuse in US adults.

Background: Screening for alcohol use in primary care settings is recommended by clinical care guidelines but is not adhered to as strongly as screening for smoking. It has been proposed that smoking status could be used to enhance the identification of alcohol misuse in primary care and other medical settings, but national data are lacking. Our objective was to investigate smoking status as a clinical indicator for alcohol misuse in a national sample of US adults, following clinical care guidelines for the assessment of these behaviors.

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.

Perceived risks and benefits of smoking cessation: gender-specific predictors of motivation and treatment outcome.

The primary aim of this study was to examine gender differences in perceived risks and benefits of smoking cessation and their relationship to pretreatment motivation and treatment outcome. No validated measures that comprehensively assess perceived risks and benefits associated with smoking cessation were available in the literature; consequently, we developed a self-report instrument [Perceived Risks and Benefits Questionnaire (PRBQ)] for this purpose. A sample of 573 treatment-seeking smokers (48% female) entering smoking cessation trials completed the PRBQ, and its association with treatment outcome was assessed in a subsample of 93 participants.

How to word effective messages about smoking and oral health: emphasize the benefits of quitting.

This project examined whether smokers differentially responded to messages about oral health that emphasized either the benefits of quitting smoking or the risks of continued smoking. Messages concerning oral health and smoking were developed to emphasize the benefits of quitting smoking (gain-framed) or the costs of continued smoking (loss-framed). These messages were embedded in recruitment brochures for smoking cessation trials, which were placed in twenty dental office waiting rooms for a six-month period.

Effects of an implicit mood prime on the accessibility of smoking expectancies in college women.

This study examined whether an implicit mood prime would differentially affect the accessibility of self-generated smoking expectancies in women. One hundred nine ever-smokers were randomly assigned to receive either a positive or negative musical mood induction or a no-music control condition. Participants self-generated smoking expectancies, and the 1st responses were categorized as positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, or negative consequence expectancies.

Predictors of nonadherence to HIV-related medication regimens during methadone stabilization.

Nonadherence to HIV-related medication regimens among drug-abusing patients decreases therapeutic effectiveness and may limit patient access to newer, highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART). A number of factors have been associated with medication nonadherence; however, few studies have examined predictors of nonadherence specifically in HIV-positive drug abusers. In the current study, a comprehensive assessment battery was administered to 42 HIV-positive, injection drug users beginning methadone maintenance.