Effects of varying ethanol dose on cigarette consumption in healthy normal volunteers

This study examined the effects of acute doses of ethanol on smoking in cigarette smokers. Subjects were moderate to-heavy smokers (20-30 cigarettes/day) who drank alcohol regularly (4-10 drinks/week). Using a within-subjects design, the dose of ethanol ingested was varied and the number of cigarettes smoked and the temporal pattern of smoking were evaluated. At the beginning of the session, subjects ingested placebo, 0.2, 0.4, or 0.8g/kg ethanol and were then allowed to smoke freely for 3h. Subjective mood measures, physiological measures and psychomotor performance were examined at hourly intervals. Subjects smoked more cigarettes during the first hour post-beverage after consuming 0.4 or 0.8g/kg ethanol than after consuming placebo or 0.2g/kg ethanol. During the second and third hours of smoking, no differences were observed between the conditions. Changes in the carbon monoxide content of subjects' breath as a function of dose were not significant, but were in the expected direction based on the number of cigarettes smoked under the different conditions. We conclude that alcohol increases cigarette consumption in non-alcohol-abusing smokers, but that this effect is short-lived and occurs only during the ascending limb of the blood alcohol curve.