The effect of snus on alcohol-related cigarette administration in dependent and non-dependent smokers

Marcel P.J. Peloquin, Karen Hecimovic, Joel Sardinha, Sherry H. Stewart, Sean P. Barrett

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Introduction Alcohol has been found to increase tobacco smoking in both dependent daily smokers (DDS) and nondependent nondaily smokers (NNS), yet little attention has been directed toward examining how different treatments/products modify drinking-related smoking behavior. Methods This study examined the acute effects of snus (4 mg of nicotine) on alcohol-related smoking responses in 18 DDS and 17 NNS. During each double-blind session, participants were randomly assigned to receive one of the following combinations: alcohol and snus, alcohol and placebo snus, placebo alcohol and snus, or placebo alcohol and placebo snus. Participants consumed their assigned beverage before absorbing their session's product, and after 30 min participants could self-administer puffs of their preferred brand of cigarette over a 60-minute period using a progressive ratio task. Results Alcohol significantly increased tobacco craving (p <.001) and tended to decrease latency to start smoking (p =.021) but only among NNS. In contrast, snus tended to decrease the number of puffs earned and how hard DDS worked for puffs in both beverage conditions (ps ≤.019) but it did not alter the smoking behavior of NNS. Craving was not significantly impacted by snus in either type of smoker. Discussion These findings raise the possibility that different processes mediate alcohol and cigarette co-use in NNS and DDS and suggest that snus may be effective in reducing alcohol-related cigarette use in DDS specifically.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)97-102
Number of pages6
JournalPharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior
Volume114-115
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2013

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by a Discovery Grant awarded to Dr. Sean P. Barrett by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and a Scotia Support Grant awarded to Dr. Sean P. Barrett and Dr. Sherry H. Stewart from the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation . Mr. Marcel P.J. Peloquin was supported by a Scotia Scholar Award from the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Toxicology
  • Pharmacology
  • Clinical Biochemistry
  • Biological Psychiatry
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

PubMed: MeSH publication types

  • Journal Article
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The effect of snus on alcohol-related cigarette administration in dependent and non-dependent smokers'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this