Comparison of the Relative Abuse Liability of Electronic Cigarette Aerosol Extracts and Nicotine Alone in Adolescent Rats: A Behavioral Economic Analysis

Andrew C. Harris, John R. Smethells, Mary Palumbo, Maciej Goniewicz and Mark G. LeSage
Additional contact information
Andrew C. Harris: Department of Medicine, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA
John R. Smethells: Department of Medicine, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA
Mary Palumbo: Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
Maciej Goniewicz: Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
Mark G. LeSage: Department of Medicine, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-12

Abstract: Background: Characterizing the determinants of the abuse liability of electronic cigarettes (ECs) in adolescents is needed to inform product regulation by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We recently reported that Vuse Menthol EC aerosol extract containing nicotine and a range of non-nicotine constituents (e.g., menthol, propylene glycol) had reduced aversive effects compared to nicotine alone in adolescent rats, whereas Aroma E-Juice EC aerosol extract did not. The current study used a behavioral economic approach to compare the relative abuse liability of these EC extracts and nicotine alone in an i.v. self-administration (SA) model in adolescents. Methods: Adolescents were tested for the SA of EC extracts prepared using an ethanol (ETOH) solvent or nicotine and saline, with and without 4% ETOH (i.e., the same concentration in the EC extracts) in 23 h/day sessions. Results. Although acquisition of SA was faster for nicotine + ETOH compared to all other formulations, the elasticity of demand for all nicotine-containing formulations was similar. Conclusions: EC aerosol extracts did not have greater abuse liability than nicotine alone in adolescents. These data suggest that nicotine may be the primary determinant of the abuse liability of these ECs in youth, at least in terms of the primary reinforcing effects of ECs mediated within the central nervous system.

Keywords: electronic cigarettes; nicotine; abuse liability; behavioral economics; drug self-administration; rats (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/3/860/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/3/860/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:3:p:860-:d:314365

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().