Effects of tobacco deprivation on alcohol cue reactivity and drinking among young adults

Nicotine and alcohol may have common neurobiological mechanisms of reinforcement. Therefore, withholding one substance might result in compensatory increases in self-administration of the other. This laboratory study investigated the effects of brief tobacco deprivation on alcohol cue-elicited urges to drink, corresponding psychophysiological reactions, and alcohol consumption. Young adults (N=78) who were moderate to heavy smokers and drinkers were stratified and randomized to a 2×2 design. Participants were either deprived of tobacco for 5 h or not deprived and then exposed to in vivo alcohol or control beverage cues. Subsequently, participants engaged in a taste-rating task as an unobtrusive measure of alcohol consumption. Tobacco deprivation resulted in increased urge to smoke and decreased cardiovascular responses but did not increase alcohol urges or alcohol consumption. Results indicate that brief tobacco deprivation does not result in compensatory increases in alcohol consumption among young moderate to heavy drinkers.