Changes in craving for a cigarette and arterial nicotine plasma concentrations in abstinent smokers
Abstract
Although the relationship between nicotine and changes in heart rate and blood pressure has been demonstrated, the relationship between nicotine and subjective effects such as decreased craving, relaxation, sickness, and decreased nervousness, is less well delineated. In this study, arterial nicotine levels were drawn in 21 smokers who smoked two average nicotine (AN) cigarettes and one low nicotine (LN) cigarette. Craving for a cigarette, relaxation, sickness, and decreased nervousness were rated on a visual analog scale (VAS) before and after smoking each cigarette. None of these subjective measures except craving for a cigarette was changed significantly by smoking. The change in craving was significantly correlated with the area under the plasma nicotine concentration versus time curve (r = -0.57, p = 0.01) calculated from the arterial nicotine samples drawn up to 20 min after the initiation of smoking the first AN cigarette. Although well-documented behavioral manipulations, such as smoking denicotinized cigarettes, reduce craving, increases in plasma arterial nicotine concentrations after smoking the first cigarette of the day also reduce craving. Both the psychology and pharmacology of nicotine/tobacco smoking are involved in craving reduction.
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Smokers experience irritability, anxiety, and depression when they have not smoked for a while.
“Smokers experience irritability, anxiety, and depression when they have not smoked for a while”
From Change in mental health after smoking cessation: systematic review and meta-analysis (2014) · cites this paper as [22]
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“In several studies that included measurement of arterial blood nicotine (19, 27, 28), investigators found that, on average, the maximal boost in blood nicotine concentration after one cigarette was in the range of 33 to 48 ng/ mL.”
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“The VAS was previously validated against arterial serum nicotine [15].”
MethodWu, A. D., Gao, M., Aveyard, P., & Taylor, G. M. J. (2023) · JAMA Network Open · doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.16111 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Craving and other characteristics of the comorbidity of alcohol and nicotine dependence
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“and pharmacology of nicotine smoking were involved in craving reduction [22].”
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“The arterial nicotine concentration in humans is reported to be about 62 nM, and this value is transiently increased 5-fold by smoking one cigarette (=308 nM) (Guthrie et al., 2004).”
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“Furthermore, we used a visual analogue scale (VAS) (similar to [31,39,40]) and the four-item Questionnaire of Smoking Urges (QSU-4) [41] to measure craving.”
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“Cigarette smoking results in typical peak arterial plasma nicotine concentrations of 40–50 ng/mL (Guthrie et al. 2004; Henningfield 1993).”
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“Similarly, after overnight abstinence, the first cigarette in the morning was found to significantly lessen craving in smokers, although it did not completely eliminate it [ 29 ].”
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“Even though most people who smoke report that they want to quit [23], many continue smoking because they consider smoking a coping mechanism for stress, offering them mental health benefits [24, 25].”
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- Authors
- Guthrie, S. K., Ni, L., Zubieta, J.-K., Teter, C. J., & Domino, E. F.
- Affiliations
- University of Michigan (US)
- Corresponding author
- Guthrie, Sally K.
- ORCID
- Teter, Christian J.
- Venue
- Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2004-07
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 617-623
- ISSN
- 0278-5846 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2063027781
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 1.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Michigan
- National Institutes of Health (5r01da010992-05)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA 10992)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Smoking Behavior and Cessation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Study
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects
- Keywords
- cigarette craving, nicotine, nicotine pharmacokinetics, smoking abstinence, relaxation, illness, anxiety, smoking, nicotine pharmacology
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Affect, Cues, Female, Hemodynamics, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Nicotine, Smoking, Tomography, Emission-Computed, Smoking Cessation, Nicotinic Agonists, Area Under Curve
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