Rimonabant, a CB1 antagonist, blocks nicotine-conditioned place preferences

The effects of Rimonabant (SR141716), an antagonist at cannabinoid CB1 receptors, were evaluated in animal models for subjective and rewarding effects of nicotine. Acute administration of 1 or 3 mg/kg SR141716 blocked expression of nicotine-induced conditioned place preferences. SR141716 (0.3-3 mg/kg) was also studied in rats trained to discriminate nicotine from saline under a fixed-ratio schedule of food delivery. In contrast to nicotine replacement therapy and bupropion, SR141716 did not have nicotine-like discriminative effects and did not alter the dose-response curve for nicotine discrimination. These findings support the proposed use of SR141716 for smoking cessation and indicate that it would selectively reduce the influence of environmental stimuli that contribute to persistent smoking behavior, without affecting subjective responses to nicotine.