Could nicotine reduction help curb addiction?
The study appears in JAMA Psychiatry . The Vermont Center on Behavior and Health (VCBH) at UVM focuses on the relationship between behavior and health, particularly in disadvantaged populations, a group that is "overrepresented" among smokers, according to the study's authors. In their latest study, the research team, led by Stephen Higgins, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and VCBH director, examined the addiction potential of cigarettes with reduced nicotine content in three vulnerable populations of smokers -- individuals with psychiatric disorders (i.e., affective disorders, opioid-use disorder), and socioeconomically disadvantaged women. "Evidence in relatively healthy and socially stable smokers indicates that reducing the nicotine content of cigarettes reduces their addictiveness," says Higgins. "Whether that same effect would be seen in populations highly vulnerable to tobacco addiction was unknown." The multi-site, double-blind study i...