Effects of instructions on responses to the nicotine patch: a laboratory study

Abstract

The results of this preliminary study suggest that information provided to smokers about patch effects and nicotine content may influence behavioral and subjective outcomes of patch use.

The role of nicotine content information in smokers' subjective responses to nicotine and placebo inhalers

“…The effect of instructions on craving associated with intention to smoke, but not with withdrawal relief, is consistent with past research on expectancy effects of nicotine administered both via NRT (Hughes et al, 1989;Juliano and Brandon, 2004;Perkins et al, 2004Perkins et al, , 2009Fucito and Juliano, 2007) and via tobacco smoking (e.g., Juliano and Brandon, 2002;Kelemen and Kaighobadi, 2007). Gottlieb et al (1987) found that nicotine expectancy reduced withdrawal symptoms in smokers using nicotine or placebo gum during a 2-week quit attempt, but this finding is difficult to interpret because the analyses excluded those who failed to remain abstinent while using the gum.…”

“…In conclusion, findings suggest that, as demonstrated with other NRTs (e.g., Hughes et al, 1989;Perkins et al, 2004;Fucito and Juliano, 2007), psychological factors play an important role in smokers' subjective responses to nicotine inhalers, the effects of which cannot be solely attributed to the direct pharmacological effects of nicotine. Nicotine content information appears to be more important to the effects of inhalers on craving associated with positive reinforcement (i.e., intention to smoke) than on craving associated with negative reinforcement (i.e., withdrawal relief).…”

“…Hughes et al (1985) found that smokers trying to quit self-administered more nicotine gum than placebo gum when told they might receive either gum, but not when the placebo gum was described as a nicotine gum with fewer side effects, or when the nicotine gum was described as a placebo gum with more side effects. In addition, smokers expecting nicotine tend to report more helpful effects than those expecting a placebo gum (Gottlieb et al, 1987;Hughes et al, 1989), placebo nasal spray (Perkins et al, 2004), or placebo patch (Fucito and Juliano, 2007). Female smokers in particular may be more responsive than their male counterparts to nicotine content information (e.g., Perkins et al, 2006;Fucito and Juliano, 2007).…”

Caffeine expectancies influence the subjective and behavioral effects of caffeine

“…Although expectancies about the subjective effects of caffeine were not directly manipulated, it is possible that instructions that caffeine would impair performance created the expectancy that caffeine would cause negative effects in general. If this is the case, the findings in the study are consistent with prior research demonstrating that individuals can experience negative side effects of drugs as a result of a negative expectancy set also referred to as "nocebo" effects (Fucito and Juliano 2007;Kirsch and Lynn 1999).…”

Exploring Smokers’ Knowledge and Expectations Toward Nicotine Vaccination: A Qualitative Study

“…Furthermore, it is important to take away misconceptions that smokers have about the value of these therapies. This is important for the ultimate aim of increasing the likelihood to use these therapies during a quit attempt and increase the chance to successfully stop smoking (Fucito & Juliano, 2007;Vogt, Ashworth, Hall, Sniehotta, & Marteau, 2010;Willemsen, Wiebing, Emst, & Zeeman, 2006). We therefore conducted a qualitative study to explore knowledge and expectations about nicotine vaccination in a group of smokers who applied for participation in a phase II-b, randomized trial on the efficacy of the nicotine vaccine "NicVAX," co-administered with the partial nicotine acetylcholine agonist varenicline and intensive counseling .…”