Varenicline Effects on Cue Reactivity and Smoking Reward/Reinforcement

Not Applicable

Completed

Brief Summary: The purpose of this study was to find out how varenicline works to help people quit smoking. Varenicline, also known as Chantix™, is an U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved medication that has been shown to help people quit smoking. This study was trying to evaluate whether varenicline would change the response to smoking and the desire for cigarettes when compared to an inactive placebo control. This was not a quit smoking treatment study, and participants were not asked or required to stop smoking while in this study.

Detailed Description: We proposed the following primary hypotheses:

1. Tonic (i.e., non-cue-provoked) craving levels would be lower in participants receiving varenicline versus placebo.

2. Cue-provoked cravings (self-report and physiological responding) would be lower in participants receiving varenicline versus placebo. (Secondary indices of craving include heart rate and skin conductance.)

3. The two primary indices of nicotine reward/reinforcement (mCEQ and choice index) would be lower in participants receiving varenicline versus placebo. (Secondary indices of nicotine reinforcement include smoking topography variables.)

A final sample of 100 non-treatment seeking daily smokers were recruited from the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Area via paid advertisements in, and press releases to, local newspapers, as well as targeted outdoor advertising via flyers (e.g., on public transportation).

Following the screening session, participants were randomly assigned to receive either varenicline or placebo medication.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Exclusion Criteria

Patients who are pregnant or lactating
Who show evidence of renal dysfunction (BUN > 25 mg/dL, or creatinine > 1.3 mg/dL)
Are using other smoking cessation medications
Have current psychiatric disorders (i.e. major depression, manic depression, and/or psychotic episodes) as determined by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID) (First et al., 1996), will be excluded

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Placebo	placebo	Participants in this group received a placebo instead of medication. The placebo was taken once a day on days 1-3, twice a day on days 4-15.
Varenicline	varenicline	For participants in the varenicline group, the medication doses followed the recommended dose schedule for the first 15 days of treatment: 0.5 mg once a day on days 1-3, 0.5 mg twice a day on days 4-7, and 1 mg twice a day on days 8-15.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Tonic Craving Score (QSU) Based on Self Reports	3 weeks per participant	Tonic Craving 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest). The Questionnaire of Smoking Urges (QSU), our primary measure of tonic craving, is a 32-item instrument, including 2 separate factor scales that roughly correspond to the desire to smoke for its pleasurable effects (positive reinforcement) or to remove unpleasant feelings of negative affect or withdrawal (negative reinforcement) (Tiffany and Drobes 1991). Following overnight abstinence, each session included assessment of tonic craving, reactivity (including craving) to smoking cues.
Cue-provoked Cravings	3 weeks per participant	Strength of Craving 0 (lowest) to 20 (highest). One item 0 - 20 Likert scale "How strong was your craving to smoke a cigarette?"

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Smoking Topography - Number of Puffs on a Cigarette	3 weeks per participant	# Puffs = total number of puffs taken at Assessment Session.
A Measure of the Subjective Expected Value of a Cigarette	3 weeks per participant	The cigarette choice procedure (Kidorf, Stitzer, and Griffiths, 1995) is a measure of the desire to smoke a cigarette. Participants are asked to hypothetically choose between smoking a cigarette now or receiving a small amount of money (from 10 cents up to $6 in increments of 10 cents). A crossover ($) value, at and above which participants prefer money, is obtained (Reid, Palmar, Raghavan, and Flammino, 2007).