Jeffrey S Stein1, Bryan W Heckman2, Derek A Pope3, Elan S Perry3, Geoffrey T Fong4, K Michael Cummings2, Warren K Bickel3. 1. Addiction Recovery Research Center, Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, Roanoke, VA, United States. Electronic address: jstein1@vtc.vt.edu. 2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States. 3. Addiction Recovery Research Center, Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, Roanoke, VA, United States. 4. Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cigarette smokers show greater delay discounting (devaluation of delayed consequences) than non-smokers, suggesting that rapid devaluation of the future contributes to tobacco use through a mechanism in which tobacco-related health consequences are too delayed to discourage smoking. However, little work has quantified delay discounting in relation to electronic cigarette (EC) use, a tobacco product that many users believe to pose fewer negative health consequences than cigarettes. METHODS: We assessed discounting of delayed monetary rewards in a web-based sample of 976 participants, stratified by both EC use (current and never) and cigarette use (current, former, and never). RESULTS: Controlling for demographic variance, current EC users generally showed greater discounting than never EC users (p = .019). Current cigarette smokers also showed greater discounting than former and never smokers (p < .001). However, the between-group difference for EC use was much smaller (ηp2 = .006) than for cigarette use (ηp2 = .026). Moreover, differences in discounting in relation to EC use were not statistically apparent in most pairwise comparisons. Most notably, the difference between former smokers who achieved smoking cessation by transitioning to ECs (i.e., exclusive EC users) and those who have never used ECs or cigarettes was nonsignificant and small (ηp2 = .010). CONCLUSIONS: The smaller effect size for the association between delay discounting and current EC use, relative to current cigarette use, suggests that public perception of ECs as a safer alternative to cigarettes attenuates the role of delay discounting in decisions to use ECs.
BACKGROUND: Cigarette smokers show greater delay discounting (devaluation of delayed consequences) than non-smokers, suggesting that rapid devaluation of the future contributes to tobacco use through a mechanism in which tobacco-related health consequences are too delayed to discourage smoking. However, little work has quantified delay discounting in relation to electronic cigarette (EC) use, a tobacco product that many users believe to pose fewer negative health consequences than cigarettes. METHODS: We assessed discounting of delayed monetary rewards in a web-based sample of 976 participants, stratified by both EC use (current and never) and cigarette use (current, former, and never). RESULTS: Controlling for demographic variance, current EC users generally showed greater discounting than never EC users (p = .019). Current cigarette smokers also showed greater discounting than former and never smokers (p < .001). However, the between-group difference for EC use was much smaller (ηp2 = .006) than for cigarette use (ηp2 = .026). Moreover, differences in discounting in relation to EC use were not statistically apparent in most pairwise comparisons. Most notably, the difference between former smokers who achieved smoking cessation by transitioning to ECs (i.e., exclusive EC users) and those who have never used ECs or cigarettes was nonsignificant and small (ηp2 = .010). CONCLUSIONS: The smaller effect size for the association between delay discounting and current EC use, relative to current cigarette use, suggests that public perception of ECs as a safer alternative to cigarettes attenuates the role of delay discounting in decisions to use ECs.
Authors: Perisa Ruhi-Williams; Mary J King; Jeffrey S Stein; Warren K Bickel Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-06-10 Impact factor: 4.614
Authors: Jeffrey S Stein; Jeremiah M Brown; Allison N Tegge; Roberta Freitas-Lemos; Mikhail N Koffarnus; Warren K Bickel; Gregory J Madden Journal: Front Behav Neurosci Date: 2022-01-13 Impact factor: 3.558
Authors: Ron Borland; Michael Le Grande; Bryan W Heckman; Geoffrey T Fong; Warren K Bickel; Jeff S Stein; Katherine A East; Peter A Hall; Kenneth Michael Cummings Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-01-06 Impact factor: 4.614