The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Nicotine is undoubtedly essential in the development and maintenance of tobacco dependence, and nicotine replacement therapies have proven to be an important component of successful attempts to quit smoking. However, there is a growing appreciation of the importance of non-nicotine factors, such as cognitive and associative mechanisms, in motivating tobacco self-administration. Denicotinized cigarettes are an important research tool that can help to disentangle nicotine versus non-nicotine effects. Denicotinized cigarettes have enabled researchers to evaluate the rewarding sensory-motor aspects of smoking in the absence of the direct effects of nicotine. Furthermore, denicotinized cigarettes have helped to elucidate the importance of smokers' expectancies in the subjective and behavioral effects of smoking. Denicotinized cigarettes may also facilitate a better understanding of lapse to relapse processes as well as individual differences in the rewarding effects of nicotine. Research using denicotinized cigarettes will be reviewed. Future research directions and implications for treatment development will also be discussed.