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Tobacco chippers show robust increases in smoking urge after alcohol consumption

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Abstract

Objective and rationale

Heavy social drinkers often engage in occasional cigarette smoking, especially in the context of consuming large quantities of alcohol. The current study assessed alcohol’s effects on smoking urge as a function of alcohol dose and time course in tobacco chippers with heavy social drinking patterns.

Method

The study assessed 39 chippers who underwent three separate evening sessions. Each subject received a placebo (1% volume alcohol as a taste mask), a low alcohol dose (two to three drinks equivalent), and a high alcohol dose (four to five drinks equivalent) in random order. No smoking was permitted during the sessions and the participants were abstinent from smoking for at least 3 h before arrival. Throughout the session, cigarette craving was assessed by the Brief Questionnaire of Smoking Urges and alcohol response was assessed by the Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES).

Results

The results showed that alcohol significantly increased cigarette craving in a dose-dependent manner (p<0.001). At the high alcohol dose, craving was heightened during the rising portion of the blood alcohol curve (BAC). There was a strong relationship between BAC and craving for positive reinforcement and this relationship was partially mediated by BAES stimulation, but not sedation.

Conclusions

The findings show that alcohol directly increases smoking urge in chipper smokers. Tobacco chippers may crave cigarettes more during heavier than during lighter drinking bouts, and this effect appears to be driven by heightened stimulation levels rather than as a means to offset alcohol’s sedative effects.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by NIH/NIAAA (#R01-AA013746(AK), R03-AA015337(AK), and F31-AA15017(AE)) and by a General Clinical Research Center Grant M01-RR00055. Appreciation is extended to Geetha Munisamy for database management and to Patrick McNamara, Adrienne Dellinger, Golnaz Pajoumand, Andrea Vos, Nicole Pretet, Roslynn Riley, and Curtis Van Riper for assisting in screening and data collection. The experiments in this study comply with the current US laws and were in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki for human subjects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, USA

    Alyssa M. Epstein, Tamara G. Sher & Michael A. Young

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, MC-3077, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA

    Andrea C. King

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  1. Alyssa M. Epstein
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  2. Tamara G. Sher
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  3. Michael A. Young
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  4. Andrea C. King
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Correspondence to Andrea C. King.

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Epstein, A.M., Sher, T.G., Young, M.A. et al. Tobacco chippers show robust increases in smoking urge after alcohol consumption. Psychopharmacology 190, 321–329 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-006-0438-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-006-0438-8

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