The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of nicotine messaging and nicotine content of study cigarettes on nicotine beliefs and subsequent use of tobacco and nicotine products.
This project will utilize a randomized, factorial design trial to examine the effects of nicotine messaging on nicotine harm beliefs and smoking behavior. After a 7-day period of smoking own preferred brand cigarettes, participants will begin a 28-day experimental period and will be randomized to one of four conditions: 1) Nicotine Corrective Messaging (NCM) + Reduced nicotine content (RNC) cigarettes, 2) NCM + normal nicotine content (NNC) cigarettes, 3) Delayed Control Messaging + RNC cigarettes, or 4) Delayed Control Messaging + NNC cigarettes. The investigators will aim to recruit and randomize 160 current, daily cigarette smokers (80 male, 80 female) in a 35-day protocol. Participants will be asked to attend 6 in-person sessions at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Nicotine Addiction (CIRNA) on Days 0, 7, 14, 21, 28 \& 35. Sessions will occur every 6-8 days.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
74
After completing a 7-day baseline period, participants will be randomized to a 28-day experimental period and will view nicotine corrective messaging at each in-person session or delayed control messaging at the final study session.
After completing a 7-day period of smoking own brand cigarettes, participants will be randomized to a 28-day experimental period and will receive reduced nicotine content (RNC) cigarettes or normal nicotine content (NNC) cigarettes.
Center for Interdisciplinary Research for Nicotine Addiction
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Nicotine Beliefs
Nicotine belief measures will be assessed by participant self-report and comprised of four broad constructs (nicotine beliefs, NRT beliefs, e-cigarette beliefs, and RNC cigarette beliefs). Nicotine beliefs relate specifically to its addictive nature, nicotine as a cause of cancer, and the role of nicotine in the health harms and cancer caused by smoking. The product-specific constructs (i.e., NRT, e-cigarette, RNC cigarette) include items related to the addictiveness of the product and the perceived health risks of the product compared to regular cigarettes. Three items assessing nicotine false beliefs (range 3-11), 6 items assessing nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) false beliefs (range 4-20), 4 items assessing e-cigarette false beliefs (range 2-14), 11 items assessing reduced nicotine content (RNC) cigarettes false beliefs (range 14-45), and two items assessing beliefs about additive-free and organic tobacco products. Higher scale scores indicate a higher number of false beliefs.
Time frame: Day 35
Daily Cigarette Consumption
Daily cigarette consumption will be assessed by participant self-report and verified through collection of spent filters.
Time frame: Day 35
Puff Duration
Total puff duration, the sum of all puff durations per cigarette, will be collected using a standardized video scoring procedure. Participants will be video recorded while smoking each lab cigarette in order to collect smoking topography data.
Time frame: Day 35
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Carbon monoxide (CO; measured in parts per million \[ppm\]) is a measure of toxicant exposure. Two measures assess daily CO exposure (collected at the onset of each session) and CO boost - the change in CO values before and after smoking a cigarette - estimates smoke exposure due to smoking an individual cigarette.
Time frame: Day 35
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Number of Participants With Intention to Use Tobacco/Nicotine Products
Participants will provide subjective ratings for four items assessing intention to use tobacco cigarettes, e-cigarettes, NRT, and RNC cigarettes during the next 12 months. Adapted from PhenX Toolkit- Susceptibility to Tobacco Products, response options Definitely Yes; Probably Yes; Probably Not; Definitely Not. Outcomes reported for participants reporting Definitely Yes or Probably Yes to each item.
Time frame: Day 35
Tobacco Use
Description Number of days used tobacco in the past 30 days. Days used summed across eight different nicotine/tobacco products (e.g., tobacco cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, NRT, RNC cigarettes).
Time frame: Day 35
Subjective Cigarette Ratings
Participants will provide subjective ratings of the strength and satisfaction for cigarettes smoked at Day 35 using a 100 mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Anchors are item-specific (strength: 0 = "very weak," 100 = "very strong"), with lower scores indicating less favorable ratings.
Time frame: Day 35