Subjective effects of the nicotine lozenge: assessment of abuse liability.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Therapeutic nicotine (patch, non-peptide), published as a randomized controlled trial.

The present study evaluated the abuse liability of the nicotine lozenge.

Effects of the lozenge on cigarette craving were also measured.

Why It Was Studied

A nicotine lozenge was developed as a novel smoking cessation aid.

Abuse liability, which in this context refers to use by novices not addicted to tobacco, may be expected to be low for the lozenge due to the relatively slow route of nicotine absorption.

Who Took Part

The age groups tagged for this paper are teenagers, adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

Subjective and physiological effects of the nicotine lozenge were tested in healthy adult smokers ( n=12, 22-55 years old); a group of younger subjects ( n=12, 18-21 years) was also included to allow for assessment of abuse liability of the lozenge in young adults specifically.

Amphetamine and a confectionery lozenge were included in the study conditions as positive controls for abuse liability and palatability, respectively, and nicotine gum was included to allow for comparison with a marketed oral nicotine replacement product with low abuse liability.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized and double-blind study.

The participants were allocated by chance, so the Therapeutic nicotine (patch, non-peptide) group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Blinding on both sides kept the participants and researchers unaware of who received Therapeutic nicotine (patch, non-peptide).

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Behavior, Addictive, Nicotine, Smoking Cessation, Tablets and Tobacco Use Disorder.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and double-blind study of Therapeutic nicotine (patch, non-peptide).

Results are reported in around 6 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2003 (Psychopharmacology), a journal based in Germany.

More context: the Therapeutic nicotine (patch, non-peptide) compound page, all human trials.