Preliminary validity of the modified Cigarette Evaluation Questionnaire in predicting the reinforcing effects of cigarettes that vary in nicotine content.

Abstract

Validity studies evaluating self-report measures in relation to behavioral preference of cigarettes varying in nicotine content are needed. The current study examined the relationship between ratings on the modified Cigarette Evaluation Questionnaire (mCEQ) and the relative reinforcing effects of Spectrum research cigarettes (15.8, 5.2, 2.4, 0.4 milligrams per gram of tobacco). Data for this secondary analysis were obtained from a double-blind study (Higgins et al., 2017) evaluating the subjective and reinforcing effects of Spectrum cigarettes under acute smoking abstinence. Current smokers (N=26) were recruited from three vulnerable smoking populations (economically-disadvantaged women of reproductive age, opioid-maintained individuals, individuals with affective disorders). In Phase 1 (5 sessions), the mCEQ (Satisfaction, Psychological Reward, Enjoyment of Respiratory Tract Sensations, Craving Reduction, Aversion subscales) was administered following ad-lib smoking of Spectrum cigarettes and subscale differences scores were calculated by subtracting ratings of the 15.8 mg/g cigarette from ratings of the reduced nicotine content cigarettes. In Phase 2 (6 sessions), participants completed six two-dose concurrent choice tests. The relationship between mCEQ subscale difference scores from Phase 1 and nicotine dose choice from Phase 2 was examined using mixed-model repeated-measures analyses of variance. Higher Satisfaction and lower Aversion subscale difference scores were associated with choosing the 15.8 mg/g cigarette more than the 5.2, 2.4, and 0.4 mg/g cigarettes. Scores on the other mCEQ subscales were not associated with nicotine choice. These results provide support for validity of the mCEQ Satisfaction and Aversion subscales predicting the relative reinforcing effects and abuse liability of varying nicotine content cigarettes.

Evaluating the utility of the modified cigarette evaluation questionnaire and cigarette purchase task for predicting acute relative reinforcing efficacy of cigarettes varying in nicotine content

“…The means and standard errors for mCEQ subscale and CPT index difference scores and proportion of choices for the higher dose cigarette are presented for each dose comparison in Table 3. As reported in Higgins et al (2017), participants showed dose-dependent increases in all five mCEQ subscales and four of the five CPT indices (Intensity, P max , Breakpoint, O max ). With regards to the concurrent choice task, participants preferred the higher over the lower dose across all dose pairs with greater preference shown when the dose contrast was larger.…”

“…Task.-The same methods used in the parent study (Higgins et al, 2017) were used to analyze the CPT in the present study.…”

“…This method has been used frequently to describe cigarettes with different levels of nicotine (Benowitz et al, 2006;Boren et al, 1990;Butschky et al, 1995;Gross et al, 1997;Hatsukami et al, 2013a;Higgins et al, 2017a;Higgins et al, 2017b), with findings indicating that increases in nicotine dose correspond to increases in both positive and negative subjective effects. There is evidence that subjective effects like Satisfaction and Aversion may be, respectively, positively and negatively predictive of SA and therefore may capture acute relative reinforcing effects (Arger et al, 2017 andPerkins et al, 2018).…”

Adolescent smokers’ response to reducing the nicotine content of cigarettes: Acute effects on withdrawal symptoms and subjective evaluations

“…Subjective responses to cigarettes were assessed post-smoking via the modified Cigarette Evaluation Scale (mCES), which contains 12 items rated on a 0–6 point Likert scale from ‘not at all’ to ‘extremely’ (Arger et al, 2017; Cappelleri et al, 2007). The mCES is comprised of several subscales: Smoking Satisfaction (e.g., did you enjoy smoking?…”

Response to reduced nicotine content cigarettes among smokers with chronic health conditions

“…Before and every 15 min for an hour after smoking each cigarette, participants completed the Minnesota Tobacco Withdrawal Scale (MTWS) ( Hughes and Hatsukami, 1986 ) and the Questionnaire of Smoking Urges-Brief (QSU-B) ( Cox et al, 2001 ) to assess tobacco withdrawal and cigarette craving, respectively. Additionally, after smoking each research cigarette, participants completed the modified Cigarette Evaluation Questionnaire (mCEQ) ( Arger et al, 2017 ; Cappelleri et al, 2007 ), which assesses the positive and negative subjective effects of smoking. They also completed the Cigarette Purchase Task (CPT) ( Jacobs and Bickel, 1999 ; MacKillop et al, 2008 ) following smoking, which is a behavioral economic simulation task in which participants estimate the number of cigarettes they would purchase to smoke within a 24-hour period across a range of cigarette prices.…”