COTININE - EFFECTS WITH AND WITHOUT NICOTINE

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the metabolite of nicotine, cotinine, in comparison to the effects of the nicotine p atch, and a combination thereof during cigarette abstinence. More spec ifically, this study examined the effects of cotinine on physiological measures, subjective measures assessing craving, withdrawal symptoms and mood, and performance measures. A between-subject, 2 x 2 factorial design was used, with the daily administration of a 15-mg nicotine pa tch (Nicotrol) versus placebo patch as one factor and 80 mg of oral co tinine fumarate versus placebo drug as the other factor. Baseline meas ures were obtained while the subjects smoked cigarettes on an ad lib b asis for 1 week. Subjects (n = 106) were then randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions and for the next 14 days were required t o be abstinent from cigarettes and take the study drugs. Cotinine admi nistration, with or without nicotine patch, produced serum cotinine co ncentrations 3-4 times higher than during ad lib smoking. Results show ed a reduction of self-reported tobacco withdrawal symptoms using the nicotine patch alone. Cotinine alone had no effect on withdrawal sympt oms. However, when nicotine patch was combined with cotinine, the bene ficial effect of the nicotine patch on withdrawal symptoms was absent. Therefore, cotinine appears to antagonize the effects of nicotine in the alleviation of withdrawal symptoms at concentrations higher than t hat attained from normal smoking. This effect does not appear to be me diated by changes in nicotine disposition.