Summary
Whether nicotine intake is regulated by smokers is not in doubt, but two recent studies raised questions about the precision of the regulation. On reviewing the data it seems clear that smoke intake is regulated to obtain a constant blood nicotine boost, averaging 10 ng/ml per cigarette. A 10 ng/ml boost in 10 min or less in venous blood is characteristic of oral and nasal snuff use and can be obtained from a nicotine nasal spray. This is sufficiently rapid for positive subjective effects in contrast with nicotine gum and patches which provide only negative reinforcement through relief of withdrawal. Positive reinforcement appears particularly important to the most highly dependent smokers.
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© 1995 Birkhäuser Verlag Basel
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Russell, M.A.H., Stapleton, J.A., Feyerabend, C. (1995). Nicotine Boost Per Cigarette as the Controlling Factor of Intake Regulation by Smokers. In: Clarke, P.B.S., Quik, M., Adlkofer, F., Thurau, K. (eds) Effects of Nicotine on Biological Systems II. Advances in Pharmacological Sciences. Birkhäuser Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-7445-8_30
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-7445-8_30
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