Treating Smokeless Tobacco Use in Rural Veterans
Smokeless TobaccoNicotine DependenceThis is a pilot study designed in an effort to develop and improve access to effective treatments for tobacco use in rural Veterans using a tailored intervention approach. Specifically, we will evaluate a combined behavioral and pharmacological smokeless tobacco cessation which concomitantly addresses comorbid issues commonly experienced by rural tobacco users including elevated depressive symptoms, risky alcohol use, and concerns about weight gain. The objectives are to: Evaluate the feasibility of an individually-tailored telephone intervention for rural smokeless tobacco users Examine the impact of the intervention on treatment utilization, patient satisfaction, and smokeless tobacco cessation.
The Impact of Real-time Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Feedback on Response to Nicotine...
Nicotine DependenceThe purpose of this study is to develop a technique to provide feedback of brain activity and to use this technique to reduce levels of craving in nicotine dependent smokers. The researchers will use a brain scan called functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI uses magnets to take pictures of your brain. Functional MRI measures brain blood flow that is related to brain activity. This measure of brain activity can be presented or "feedback" to volunteers.
Assisting Smokers to Switch to a JUUL E-Cigarette by Devaluing Combustible Cigarettes
Smoking CessationHarm Reduction4 moreThis study will evaluate a reward devaluation strategy in which smokers use the JUUL e-cigarette immediately before any combustible cigarettes (CCs) are smoked. This procedure is predicted to accomplish three goals: 1) the rewarding effects of CC will be disrupted because subjects will already have attained fairly high peak nicotine concentrations immediately before smoking the cigarette. This reduces the rewarding effect of smoking, in part from receptor desensitization that occurs following nicotine exposure, which reduces the response to a subsequent dose of nicotine, and in part from satiating the drive to smoke; 2) the use of the JUUL will become associated with the same cues that elicit smoking, thereby promoting the substitution of JUUL use for CC use; and 3) ad libitum nicotine intake from the JUUL and its rewarding effects will be maximized because, unlike CC, they will be experienced after a period of nicotine deprivation. Thus, despite a lower per-puff nicotine dose relative to CC, the pharmacologic impact and reinforcing effect will be maximized. The study will evaluate two flavors (Mint and Virginia Tobacco), randomly assigned, to determine if flavor assignment (similar to the subjects' usual brand of CC or different than the subjects usual brand CC) has an effect on the success of this reconditioning procedure.
Smartphone-based Financial Incentives
Tobacco Use DisorderCigarette smoking during pregnancy increases risk for catastrophic pregnancy complications, growth retardation, other adverse fetal and infant health problems, and later-in-life chronic conditions among exposed offspring. The most effective intervention for reducing smoking during pregnancy is financial incentives whereby participants earn incentives (e.g., gift cards, cash) contingent on objective evidence of smoking abstinence. However, financial incentives-based interventions are typically delivered in relatively intense protocols requiring frequent clinic visits, which limits the geographical range over which services can be delivered and potentially denies treatment to those residing in remote or otherwise difficult to reach settings. The present study will examine the feasibility, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of a smartphone-based financial incentives intervention whereby smoking monitoring and delivery of incentives are completed remotely using a mobile app (to be designed by DynamiCare Health, Inc.). Eligible participants who complete the informed consent process will be randomized to one of two conditions: an incentives condition wherein women will receive financial incentives contingent on the remote submission of breath and saliva specimens indicating abstinence from recent smoking (described below), or a best practices control condition in which women will receive usual care for smoking cessation that is provided at their obstetrical clinics, as well as three brief educational sessions and referral to the Vermont (or other state) pregnancy-specific quit line by our research staff. For inclusion in the study, women must meet the following criteria: (a) > 18 years of age, (b) report being smokers at the time they learned of the current pregnancy, (c) report smoking in the 7 days prior to completing their phone eligibility screening, (c) < 25 weeks pregnant, (d) speak English, (e) own a smartphone (Android or iOS; 81.8% of pregnant women in wave 1 [2013-2014] of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health [PATH] reported owning a smartphone). Exclusion criteria include: (a) current or prior mental or medical condition that may interfere with study participation (assessed via self-report during phone eligibility screening), (b) smoke marijuana more than once each week and not willing to quit (marijuana smoking can inflate breath CO), (c) exposed to unavoidable occupational sources of CO (e.g., car mechanic), and (d) self-report currently being maintained on opioid maintenance therapy (e.g., methadone, buprenorphine). Participants randomized to the incentives condition will select a quit date (either the first or second Monday following their enrollment), and will submit videos of themselves blowing into a breath CO monitor twice daily during week 1. They will receive incentives for every sample where expired breath CO is < 6 ppm. Beginning in week 2 and extending through week 6, participants will submit videos twice per week (Monday/Thursday) for which they will receive incentives for providing videos of themselves completing saliva cotinine tests indicating smoking abstinence. From week 7 until delivery, participants will submit videos once per week and will continue to receive incentives for saliva cotinine tests indicating no smoking. During the postpartum period, women will submit videos twice weekly for the first 4 weeks and once weekly from weeks 5-12. Women will receiving incentives for negative breath and saliva samples, and the value of incentives will increase with each consecutive sample indicating smoking abstinence. Participants will not receive incentives for missed samples or samples that indicate smoking, and the incentive schedule will be reset at its starting value. However two consecutive negative samples following a missed or positive sample will restore the incentive to its prior value. Women in both conditions will complete seven formal assessments of their smoking status during their participation along with a treatment acceptability questionnaire and semi-structured interview on barriers and facilitators of treatment engagement. We conducted a power analysis to estimate the number of participants required to detect treatment effects assuming late-pregnancy abstinence rates of approximately 40% vs. < 10% (incentives vs. best practices, respectively), and 24-week postpartum abstinence rates of approximately 20% vs. < 5%. The proposed sample size of 76 per treatment condition will result in at least 80% power to detect a difference between the two treatment conditions in abstinence rates of 40% vs. 10 % at late-pregnancy or 20% vs. 5% at 24-weeks postpartum assessments using a chi-square test and significance level of 0.05.
cSBI-M for Young Military Personnel
Alcohol AbuseTobacco Dependence1 moreThe goal of this project is to test the efficacy of a computer-facilitated Screening and Brief Intervention system adapted for Military use (cSBI-M) in reducing substance use among 18- to 25-yr-old U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps personnel (USN/USMCs). The aims and hypotheses of this project are to: 1)Test the effects of cSBI-M on any alcohol use. Hypothesis: Among 18- to 25-yr-old USN/USMCs coming for routine health screenings, those receiving cSBI-M will have lower rates of any alcohol use at follow-ups compared to TAU. 2) Test the effects of cSBI-M separately as a preventive, early therapeutic, and risk-reduction intervention. Hypotheses: (a) Among 18- to 25-yr-old non-drinking USN/USMCs (negative history of past-12-months drinking at baseline), those receiving cSBI-M will have lower rates of drinking initiation and heavy episodic drinking (HED, a.k.a. "binge" drinking). (b) Among 18- to 25-yr-old drinking USN/USMCs, those receiving cSBI-M will have higher rates of drinking cessation, reduced intensity of drinking (e.g., past-3-months drinking days, HED, and driving after drinking or riding with a drinking driver.(3) Test the effects of cSBI-M on tobacco use; explore its effects on other drug use. (4) Assess potential moderators (e.g., age, gender, race/ethnicity, substance use history +/-, parent/sibling/peer substance use), mediators (e.g., Patient to Provider Connectedness,17 perceived harmfulness of alcohol and drug use), and explore cSBI-M's mechanism of action. Hypotheses: among 12- to 18-yr-old patients coming for routine care, those receiving c-ASBI will have 1) lower rates of any alcohol use, of drinking initiation and riding with a driver who has been drinking, and 2) higher rates of drinking cessation, reduced intensity of drinking, heavy episodic drinking and driving after drinking or riding with a driver who has been drinking.
Smoking Cessation for People Living With HIV/AIDS
HIVAIDS1 moreIn this proposed study with People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), we will use a stepped care model called a Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial (SMART) to examine the efficacy of low- and high-intensity smoking cessation treatments for nicotine dependent PLWHA that incorporate the current standard of care and prize-based contingency management. Intervention will be administered in a community-based HIV integrated care clinic in downtown Detroit, which has the highest prevalence rates of HIV/AIDS and smoking in Michigan. Phase 1 will last 4 weeks, and will involve brief intervention to help participants stop smoking. For phase 2, participants will be assigned to different study arms depending on whether they are Responders (reduced their smoking) or Non-responders (continued to smoke). Phase 1: We hypothesize that brief high-magnitude prize contingency management will result in greater reduction in smoking than standard of care alone. Phase 2a: We hypothesize that non-responders who are assigned to contingency management will be more likely to reduce their smoking throughout treatment and to abstain from smoking at all follow-up points. Phase 2b: We hypothesize that responders who are assigned to monitoring and low-magnitude prize contingency management will be more likely to maintain their reduced or abstinent smoking status at all follow-up time-points.
Effects of Intensive Behavioral Training Program on Impulsivity and Inhibitory Control in Smokers...
Tobacco SmokingNicotine Dependence3 moreDependence on tobacco derived nicotine is a major public health problem. Substance users who complete training in mindfulness subjectively report increased patience and improved motor control over their impulses. Yet, no studies have tested this perceived benefit with behavioral measures of impulse control. The investigators are conducting a randomized controlled clinical trial, which compares Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Mindfulness Training for tobacco smokers, using behavioral measures to investigate the effects of mindfulness training on impulsivity and inhibitory control.
Intervention Trial of Culturally-Appropriate Decision Aids for Smoking Cessation
Cigarette SmokingTobacco Use Disorder2 moreDespite the establishment of various smoking cessation methods, including pharmacological intervention, only a small proportion of smokers who visit doctors choose to receive such assistance. Such under-utilization is especially apparent in some cultures, as in the case of Korea, where a government survey showed that only 0.5% of current or formal smoker reported they had been prescribed smoking cessation medication. Shame in asking for help for an addictive disorder has been recognized as one of the most recognized cultural barrier in Asian-American population. It is clear that culturally focused studies on smoking cessation is warranted. Patient decision aids are tools that help people become involved in decision making by providing information about the options and outcomes and by clarifying personal values. Patient decision aids have been developed to help patients decide whether to quit smoking or not, or whether to use smoking medication or not. However, such previous studies have only been focused on western populations. The main purpose of this study is to develop a culturally appropriate decision aid for smoking cessation for the Korean population, as well as evaluate its effect on their decision to use smoking cessation medication. The investigators expect that culturally tailored smoking cessation decision aids would increase knowledge about efficacy of smoking cessation, make people have more positive attitudes toward smoking cessation medication, encourage people to discuss about smoking cessation medication with their physicians. Ultimately the investigators expect it would increase usage of smoking cessation medication and enhance the quitting rate of smoking, which is a very important clinical issue.
Trial of Computerized SBI to Reduce Teen Alcohol Use
Alcohol AbuseCannabis Abuse1 moreThe goal of this project is to test the effectiveness of a computer-facilitated alcohol screening and brief intervention (c-ASBI) system for 12- to 18-year-old primary care patients in a multi-site, randomized comparative effectiveness trial. The investigators hypothesize that, among 12- to 18-year olds patients coming for annual well-care, those receiving c-ASBI will have lower rates of any alcohol use at 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups compared to Treatment As Usual (TAU).
Preventing Tobacco Relapse With Omega-3s Trial
Tobacco DependenceAlmost 12% of women report smoking during pregnancy. Smoking during pregnancy is associated with adverse fetal outcomes and up to 35-75% of women quit smoking during their pregnancy. Clinical trials of tobacco cessation medications have reported safety concerns along with limited efficacy. Subsequently, these medications are not generally recommended in pregnancy and most women who stop smoking do so unassisted. Not surprisingly, the rates of smoking relapse in the post-partum period are up to 67%. To date, clinical trials of behavior interventions in the post-partum period have been largely null. Pharmacotherapy has not been studied as a means of preventing relapse in smokers who quit without the use of medications. Additionally, these medications are excreted in breast milk, which limits there use for lactating women. Thus alternative, safe, and effective strategies to prevent smoking relapse in high-risk, former smokers during the post-partum period are needed. n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) have anti-inflammatory properties and appear effective as adjuvant therapy for depression. In animal models, n-3 LCPUFA deficiencies can result in hypofunctioning of the dopamine mesocorticolimbic pathways which are related to reward and dependence. Nicotine results in an elevation of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens which is associated with the pleasurable sensations related to nicotine use. It has been hypothesized that correcting the hypofunctioning dopaminergic system through n-3 LCPUFA supplementation might reduce nicotine cravings. Taken together, these studies suggest that supplemental n-3 LCPUFA might be useful in preventing smoking relapse. The investigators' hypothesis is that post-partum former smokers randomized to n-3 LCPUFA supplementation will be less likely to relapse and have less nicotine cravings compared to women allocated to placebo. To test this hypothesis they will conduct a 12-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study of 4 grams/day n-3 LCPUFA supplementation versus placebo. Participants will be enrolled prior to hospital discharge. The primary outcomes of the trial will be time to smoking relapse and change in self-reported nicotine cravings. The secondary outcome will be point prevalence abstinence at 6- and 12-weeks. compliance will be monitored by measuring red blood cell phospholipid fatty acid content and verify smoking cessation through end-expired CO and cotinine.