Impact of Nicotine Messaging on Beliefs and Behavior

This project will utilize a randomized, factorial design trial to examine the effects of nicotine messaging on nicotine harm beliefs and smoking behavior. After a 7-day period of smoking own preferred brand cigarettes, participants will begin a 28-day experimental period and will be randomized to one of four conditions: 1) Nicotine Corrective Messaging (NCM) + Reduced nicotine content (RNC) cigarettes, 2) NCM + normal nicotine content (NNC) cigarettes, 3) Delayed Control Messaging + RNC cigarettes, or 4) Delayed Control Messaging + NNC cigarettes. The investigators will aim to recruit and randomize 160 current, daily cigarette smokers (80 male, 80 female) in a 35-day protocol. Participants will be asked to attend 6 in-person sessions at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Nicotine Addiction (CIRNA) on Days 0, 7, 14, 21, 28 & 35. Sessions will occur every 6-8 days.

Inclusion criteria

• Self-report smoking at least 5 non-menthol, filtered cigarettes per day for at least the last 12 months.
• Not currently undergoing smoking cessation treatment or planning to quit over the duration of the study (~6 weeks).
• Plan to live in the area for the duration of the study.
• Capable of giving written informed consent, which includes compliance with the requirements and restrictions listed in the combined consent and HIPAA form.
• Able to communicate fluently in English (i.e., speaking, writing, and reading).

Exclusion criteria

• Smoke menthol cigarettes greater than 20% of the time.
• Smoke cigarettes of non-standard circumference (e.g., wides, slim, capri, etc.)
• Use of any nicotine containing products other than cigarettes. Participants reporting isolated use of other nicotine containing products less than 5 times per month are eligible to participate.
• Attempt to quit smoking over the duration of the study period.
• Provide a Carbon Monoxide (CO) reading less than 5 parts per million (ppm) at Session 1 (D0).
• History of substance abuse (other than nicotine) in the past 12 months and/or currently receiving medical treatment for substance abuse. Attendance at alcoholics anonymous or narcotics anonymous meetings will not be considered medical treatment for the purposes of this protocol.
• Current alcohol consumption that exceeds 25 standard drinks/week.
• Women, including all individuals assigned as "female" at birth, who are pregnant, breast feeding, or planning a pregnancy over the duration of the study period.
• Any impairment including, but not limited to, visual, physical, and/or neurological impairments preventing the proper completion of the study procedures. Notable impairments will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the Principal Investigator and/or the Study Physician.
• Color blindness.
• Serious or unstable medical condition. Applicable conditions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the Principal Investigator and/or the Study Physician.
• Lifetime history of schizophrenia, psychosis, and/or bipolar disorder.
• Current diagnosis of active major depression. Participants who maintain a diagnosis of major depression who have not experienced any major depressive episodes in the past 6 months and are stable on antidepressant medication(s) are eligible to participate.

Additional, general reasons for exclusion include:

• Past, current, anticipated, or pending enrollment in another research program over the study period that could potentially impact subject safety, study data, and/or the study design as determined by the Principal Investigator and/or Study Physician.
• Any circumstance, medical condition, illness, disorder, adverse event (AE), or concomitant medication that could compromise participant safety or significantly impact study performance as determined by the Principal Investigator and/or Study Physician. Participants may be withdrawn for any of the aforementioned reasons at any point throughout the study.
• Significant non-compliance with protocol and/or study design as determined by the Principal Investigator and/or Study Physician. Participants may be withdrawn at any point throughout the study.