Transient compensatory smoking in response to placebo cigarettes

To address the public health problems caused by smoking, researchers have suggested a gradual reduction in the nicotine content of cigarettes. There remain concerns, however, about the potential for smokers to compensate for reductions in nicotine content by altering their smoking behavior. Such compensatory behaviors may negate any potential cessation and/or harm reduction benefits.

The purpose of this study was to quantify smoking behavior (e.g., puff number, volume, duration, interpuff interval, and peak flow) in response to cigarettes, varying only in nicotine content, administered repeatedly.

Sixty-seven dependent smokers participated in this two-session, within-subject study. Moderate nicotine content and placebo cigarettes (Quest© brand) were administered in a double-blind and counterbalanced manner. Each session required 12 h of tobacco abstinence and included four ad lib smoking bouts of the condition-assigned cigarette with 40 minutes separating each bout.

Placebo cigarettes produced increases in total puff volume and duration and decreases in total interpuff interval relative to cigarettes with moderate nicotine content. Differences in total puff volume and duration generally dissipated across smoking bouts, with differences in total puff volume nonexistent by the third and fourth bouts.

Placebo cigarettes produce compensatory smoking during initial exposures; however, these effects appear to be short lived. These findings are consistent with the previous work where smoking compensation has been observed in response to a single cigarette, but not over several days of smoking.