The effect of chewing gum on self-reported nicotine withdrawal: is it the flavor, the act of chewing, or both?

A healthy alternative that has been shown to lessen the severity of nicotine withdrawal symptoms during brief periods of nicotine abstinence (e.g., 3-4 h) is confectionary chewing gum (Cohen and colleagues, 1997, 1999, & 2001). The current study sought to build upon this line of research by examining the impact of chewing gum on nicotine withdrawal severity over an extended period of nicotine abstinence (e.g., 24 h) while also identifying the specific attributes of chewing gum that may be responsible for the reported decreases in withdrawal. Specifically, the acts of chewing, flavor, as well as the combination of the two, were independently examined. Twenty-four dependent cigarette smokers participated in three experimental conditions (e.g., a flavorless gum base, flavor strips, and flavored chewing gum) as well as a no product control across four weeks while abstaining from smoking for 24 h each week. Using repeated measures ANOVAs, a significant difference in withdrawal severity was reported by participants across conditions, F(3, 69)=2.89, p < .05. Follow-up analyses revealed that the flavored gum condition yielded significantly lower withdrawal scores than the flavorless gum base and no product control conditions. These findings indicate that chewing gum appears useful in lessening the severity of nicotine withdrawal symptoms over a 24-hour period of nicotine abstinence and that it is a combination of flavor and chewing that appears to lead to this effect. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.