Effects of Cigar Flavors on Measures of Abuse Liability Among Young Adults

Effects of Cigar Flavors on Measures of Abuse Liability Among Young Adults

This study involves 25 current young adult combustible tobacco cigarette (CTC) smokers who will complete 5 Latin square ordered, within-subject, laboratory conditions that differ by the tobacco product smoked:

1. own-brand CTC (positive control),
2. original-flavored Black & Mild (B&M) cigar,
3. apple-flavored B&M cigar,
4. cream-flavored B&M cigar, and
5. wine-flavored B&M cigar.

Inclusion Criteria:

• To be included, participants must be healthy, as determined by self-report and heart rate/blood pressure (HR/BP) check, between the ages of 18-25, and willing to provide informed consent.
• They must agree to attend the lab and abstain from tobacco/nicotine as required, to use the designated products, and to follow the study protocol.
• Participants must also be regular CTC smokers (≥5 cigarettes/day for past 3 months) naïve to cigar products (smoked no more than 10 cigar products of any type in lifetime) who can provide a semi-quantitative urine cotinine result of ≥3 at screening (NicAlert test).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals with a self-reported history of chronic diseases or psychiatric conditions will be excluded.
• Other exclusion criteria are: history of or active cardiovascular disease, current oral health problems or injuries, low/high BP, seizures, regular prescription medication use (other than vitamins or birth control), and past month use of cocaine, opioids, benzodiazepines, and methamphetamine (self-report).
• Individuals who report using marijuana or alcohol >20 days in the past 30 or interest in quitting CTC use within the next 30 days will also be excluded.
• Women will be excluded if they are breast-feeding or test positive for pregnancy (by urinalysis) at screening.