The Effects of Electronic Cigarette Use on Alcohol Consumption: A Neurocognitive and Behavioral Investigation

Indiana University Indianapolis, Indianapolis IN

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project proposes to examine how electronic-cigarettes (e-cigs) influence alcohol use in a well-controlled laboratory setting. My overarching models proposes that 1) e-cig use results in attentional bias towards alcohol cues, 2) e-cig use results in increased alcohol consumption, and 3) these behavioral and neurocognitive patterns relate to self-reported concurrent alcohol and e-cig use, as well as self-report cravings for e-cig and alcohol. Although a relationship between e-cig use and alcohol consumption is supported by cross-sectional data [1-4], research has yet to experimentally examine my overarching model by which e-cig use influences neurocognitive and behavioral responses affecting alcohol consumption. The proposed study will use an eye-tracking dot-probe task, an ad libitum oral alcohol consumption paradigm, behavioral tracking of e-cig puffs and alcohol sips, self- report alcohol and e-cig use measures, and self-report craving measures to assess my integrative model. The main study hypotheses are: 1) Individuals primed with e-cig use will display a larger attentional bias towards alcohol cues, as assessed with eye-tracking measurement during a dot probe task, as compared to when there is no e-cig prime, 2) the strength of the attentional bias for alcohol cues following e-cig prime will be related to self-reported concurrent alcohol and e-cig use as measured by a timeline follow-back and self-reported e-cig and alcohol craving, 3) individuals will consume more alcohol ad libitum when allowed to use e-cigs during the session as compared to when e-cig use is not allowed, 4) the amount of alcohol consumed during the ad libitum session will be significantly related to the amount of e-cig use during the ad libitum session, and 5) the effect of e-cig use on alcohol consumption will be related to self-reported concurrent alcohol and e-cig use as measured by a timeline follow-back and self-reported e-cig and alcohol craving. Given that e-cigs are often marketed for health related benefits, including smoking cessation, and that they are used to circumvent comprehensive smoking bans, experimentally examining how e-cig use affects alcohol consumption is imperative. E-cigs could cause unintended harm to individuals by increasing alcohol consumption. Successfully demonstrating this effect will help advance the field and further inform health care providers concerning the safety and potential inadvertent negative consequences of e-cig use.