Behavioral economics of drug self-administration

Wk, Bickel; Hughes, Victoria; Rj, DeGrandpre; St, Higgins; Rizzuto, Pamela

doi:10.1007/bf02245139

Cited by 58 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The earliest procedures were based on those use in animal self-administration studies and extended to the human laboratory. 5 These self-administration studies required many sessions with long durations and could only conveniently compare consumption of a few products. The next step in this evolution entailed a questionnaire measuring self-reported consumption of cigarettes at prices ranging from free to $100.00 per cigarette referred to as the hypothetical purchase task.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 41%

“…For example, the consumption of coffee has been shown to decrease with increasing cigarette prices, even though the price of coffee remained constant. 5 Between these two extremes is independence, which occurs when changes in the price of one commodity have little or no effect on consumption of another constantly priced commodity. For example, in a study where smokers completed response requirements to obtain concurrently available money and cigarette puffs, independence between commodities was found; that is, as cigarette consumption decreased with increasing price, the amount of money earned remained stable.…”

Section: Original Investigationmentioning

confidence: 39%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Experimental Tobacco Marketplace I: Substitutability as a Function of the Price of Conventional Cigarettes

Quisenberry

Koffarnus

Hatz

et al. 2015

NICTOB

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: Behavioral economic studies of nicotine product consumption have traditionally examined substitution between two products and rarely examined substitution with more products. Increasing numbers of tobacco products available for commercial sale leads to more possible cross-product interactions, indicating a need to examine substitution in more complex arrangements that closely mirror the tobacco marketplace. Methods: The experimental tobacco marketplace (ETM) is an experimental online store that displays pictures, information, and prices for several tobacco products. Smokers were endowed with an account balance based on their weekly tobacco purchases. Participants then made potentially real purchases for seven (Experiment 1) or six (Experiment 2) tobacco/nicotine products under four price conditions for conventional cigarettes while prices for other products remained constant. Smokers returned 1 week later to report tobacco/nicotine use and return unused products for a refund. Results: In Experiment 1 (n = 22), cigarette purchasing decreased as a function of price. Substitution was greatest for electronic cigarettes and cigarillos and significant for electronic cigarettes. Experiment 2 (n = 34) was a replication of Experiment 1, but with cigarillos unavailable in the ETM. In Experiment 2, cigarette purchases decreased as a function of price. Substitution was robust and significant for electronic cigarettes and Camel Snus. Conclusions: The ETM is a novel, practical assay that mimics the real-world marketplace, and functions as a simple research tool for both researchers and participants. Across the two experiments the product mix in the ETM altered which products functioned as substitutes suggesting complex interactions between purchasing and product availability. Implications: This article adds a novel method of collecting purchasing data that mimics real world purchasing to the existing literature. The ETM is a practical avenue by which to study both hypothetical and potentially real purchasing.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 41%

Section: Original Investigationmentioning

confidence: 39%

The Experimental Tobacco Marketplace I: Substitutability as a Function of the Price of Conventional Cigarettes

Quisenberry

Koffarnus

Hatz

et al. 2015

NICTOB

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Previous research has shown that consumption of coffee decreases as the unit price of cigarettes increases (i.e., caffeine is a complement to cigarettes (Bickel et al, 1992)). Likewise, increasing cigarette taxes decreases alcohol and marijuana consumption (Lee, 2007, Dee, 1999, Chaloupka et al, 1999, Pacula, 1998, Farrelly et al, 2001), suggesting that consumption of alcohol and marijuana may decrease following nicotine reduction.…”

Section: How Is a Nicotine Reduction Policy Related To The Consumpmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some human laboratory studies have utilized a task in which smokers make an effortful response to receive access to either cigarettes or another product (Bickel et al, 1992, Bickel and Madden, 1999, Johnson and Bickel, 2003, Johnson et al, 2004). The unit price of cigarettes can be raised in the presence of other products, so that the interactions between the unit prices of products can be considered.…”

Section: How Is a Nicotine Reduction Policy Related To The Consumpmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nicotine reduction as an increase in the unit price of cigarettes: A behavioral economics approach

Smith

Sved

Hatsukami

et al. 2014

Preventive Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Urgent action is needed to reduce the harm caused by smoking. Product standards that reduce the addictiveness of cigarettes are now possible both in the U.S. and in countries party to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Specifically, standards that required substantially reduced nicotine content in cigarettes could enable cessation in smokers and prevent future smoking among current non-smokers. Behavioral economics uses principles from the field of microeconomics to characterize how consumption of a reinforcer changes as a function of the unit price of that reinforcer (unit price = cost / reinforcer magnitude). A nicotine reduction policy might be considered an increase in the unit price of nicotine because smokers are paying more per unit of nicotine. This perspective allows principles from behavioral economics to be applied to nicotine reduction research questions, including how nicotine consumption, smoking behavior, use of other tobacco products, and use of other drugs of abuse are likely to be affected. This paper reviews the utility of this approach and evaluates the notion that a reduction in nicotine content is equivalent to a reduction in the reinforcement value of smoking—an assumption made by the unit price approach.

show abstract

“…In a separate study, young adult smokers in a cessation program who had an increase in substitute reinforcers during the treatment period were nearly twice as likely to quit smoking at the end of treatment (Audrain-McGovern et al, 2009). While studies of adolescents, human laboratory studies (Epstein et al, 1991; Bickel et al, 1992, 1995; MacKillop et al, 2012; Acker and MacKillop, 2013), and studies using financial incentives to promote smoking abstinence (e.g., Volpp et al, 2009) have demonstrated the influence of alternative reinforcers on smoking behavior, to our knowledge, the relationship between self-reported, naturally occurring alternative reinforcers (vs. study-related financial incentives) and smoking cessation has yet to be studied within a clinical trial of adult treatment-seeking smokers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The association between changes in alternative reinforcers and short-term smoking cessation

Goelz

Audrain-McGovern

Hitsman

et al. 2014

Drug and Alcohol Dependence

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background While more than 50% of smokers make a serious quit attempt each year, less than 10% quit permanently. Evidence from studies of adolescent smoking and other substances of abuse suggest that alternative reinforcers, a construct of Behavioral Economic Theory, may contribute to the likelihood of smoking cessation in adults. This study examined the behavioral economics of smoking cessation within a smoking cessation clinical trial and evaluated how depressive symptoms and behavioral economic variables are associated with smoking cessation. Methods A sample of 469 smokers, enrolled in an effectiveness trial that provided counseling and 8 weeks of 21mg nicotine patches, was analyzed. Alternative reinforcers (substitute and complementary reinforcers) and depressive symptoms were examined in relation to 7-day point prevalence abstinence, verified with breath carbon monoxide, 8 weeks after the quit date. Results Controlling for covariates associated with cessation (nicotine dependence, age of smoking initiation, patch adherence), participants who were abstinent at week 8 showed significantly higher substitute reinforcers at all time-points, compared to those who were smoking (p’s < .05). Participants who were abstinent at week 8 showed lower complementary reinforcers and depressive symptoms at all time-points, compared to those who were smoking, but significant differences were confined to week 8 (p’s < .01). There was no significant interaction between alternative reinforcers and depressive symptoms across the eight weeks on week 8 abstinence. Conclusions These results support continued examination of Behavioral Economic Theory in understanding adult smoking cessation in order to inform future treatments and guidelines.

show abstract

Behavioral economics of drug self-administration

Cited by 58 publications

References 25 publications

The Experimental Tobacco Marketplace I: Substitutability as a Function of the Price of Conventional Cigarettes

The Experimental Tobacco Marketplace I: Substitutability as a Function of the Price of Conventional Cigarettes

Nicotine reduction as an increase in the unit price of cigarettes: A behavioral economics approach

The association between changes in alternative reinforcers and short-term smoking cessation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About