Inducing low tar/nicotine cigarette smoking in women

Nicotine as a psychoactive drug

Nicotine is a paradoxical drug in that it both stimulates and depresses functions. It affects the central nervous system, the peripheral nervous system, the cardiovascular, the skeletal, and the gastrointestinal systems. Its psychoactive effects and drug dependency potential as well as some therapeutic approaches to smoking cessation have been reviewed here. More research information is needed for professionals working with those who want to quit smoking.

Effects of puff number and puff spacing on carbon monoxide exposure from commercial brand cigarettes

Six chronic smokers of mid- to high-carbon monoxide (CO) yield cigarettes smoked ultralow- (1.6 mg CO), low- (5.9 mg CO) and high- (14.3 mg CO) yield commercial cigarettes under controlled smoking conditions in which either puff number or puff spacing was manipulated. CO exposure (pre- to postsmoking increments) was directly related to the number of puffs taken for all cigarette yields. CO exposure from the high- and low-yield cigarettes was equivalent when the number of puffs taken from the low-yield cigarettes was increased by 50% (from 8 to 12 puffs). In contrast, CO exposure from ultralow-yield cigarettes was still marginally lower than exposure from high-yield cigarettes after a 4-fold increase in puff number (8 to 32 puffs). Puff spacing did not affect biological exposure to CO. The study showed that the number of puffs taken during smoking can clearly affect biological exposure to CO, but that compensation for lowered yield using increased puffs is much more difficult when ultralow- as compared with low or "light"- yield cigarettes are smoked.

Long-term effects of switching to cigarettes with lower tar and nicotine yields

On switching to cigarettes with lower tar and nicotine yields, most individuals smoke more intensively, but it is not clear if this effect persists over a long period. Smoking behaviour was monitored in 10 male and 18 female volunteers at five monthly visits, smoking commercially available cigarettes (tar yield greater than 10 mg), then for six more visits at 6-week intervals after switching (mean reduction of 5.9 mg tar and 0.45 mg nicotine). Puffing behaviour was monitored with a flow sensing holder, and measurements were made before and after smoking of plasma cotinine, carboxyhaemglobin and alveolar carbon monoxide. After switching, cotinine levels only fell 40% of that predicted from the fall in nicotine yields, and there were no systematic trends for the rest of the study. Puff volumes rose (reflecting perhaps the reduced draw resistance of the lower yield cigarettes), and remained higher thereafter. The number of puffs per cigarette appeared to rise on switching, but then decreased again. In conclusion, most effects of switching to lower yield cigarettes appeared to persist for at least 36 weeks, suggesting that the strategy of reducing exposure to cigarette smoke by lowering tar and nicotine yields may be of limited value.

Carbon monoxide exposure from commercial brand cigarettes under controlled smoking conditions

Carbon monoxide (CO) exposure from ultralow-, low- and high-CO delivery commercial cigarettes was examined under controlled smoking conditions. Seven chronic smokers of mid- to high-CO delivery commercial cigarettes served in the experiment. CO level increases of 2.10, 5.76 and 7.38 ppm were obtained from ultralow-yield (1.6 mg CO delivery), low-yield (5.9 mg CO delivery) and high-yield (14.3 mg CO delivery) cigarettes, respectively. Subjects achieved significantly higher increases in CO levels from both low- and high-yield cigarettes than from ultralow-yield cigarettes, but increased levels of CO from low- and high-yield cigarettes were not different from each other. The data suggest that degree of CO absorption by the lungs during a short period of time may limit increases in CO levels obtained from high-yield cigarettes.

Behavioral approaches to smoking cessation--II. Topical bibliography 1969-1979

This topical bibliography covers that past decade of research into behavioral approaches to smoking cessation. Using multiple sources, including Psychological Abstracts, 335 reference were compiled from over 50 psychology, medicine, and related behavioral science journals. All references were comprehensively coded for each of 28 topical area of interest to behavioral researchers and clinicians. Topics include specific behavioral smoking cessation techniques (e.g. aversive smoking, relaxation techniques, stimulus control), treatment problems (e.g. maintenance problems and procedures, physiological correlates of smoking behavior, therapist and treatment factors influencing outcome). An index defining each topical and listing by number all articles related to each topic is included with the bibliography (Tables 1 and 2). With this index, users with specialized interests can quickly locate all citations concerning a particular topic or combination of topics. The preceding article (Orleans et al., 1981) gives guidelines for expanding this bibliography for personal reference use.

Estimating the hazards of "less hazardous" cigarettes. I. Tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, acrolein, hydrogen cyanide, and total aldehyde deliveries of Canadian cigarettes

The tar, nicotine, CO, HCN, total aldehyde, and acrolein deliveries of 102 brands of Canadian cigarettes have been determined. On the basis of these deliveries, 15 brands (9% of sales) were categorized as low hazard and 9 brands (10% of sales) as high hazards. All six constituents were used for the classification since for most brands tar was a poor indicator of gas-phase deliveries. As a result, smokers who indiscriminately switch to a brand with a lower tar delivery may inadvertently increase their exposure to gas-phase constituents such as CO and increase their risk of smoking-related pathology. With respect to Canadian cigarettes, the choice of a 30-mm standard butt length may result in omission of some of the available tobacco from the testing procedure, thus reducing the value of tar level as a guide to choosing a less harmful cigarette.