EFFECTS OF COTININE ON CIGARETTE SELF-ADMINISTRATION

Previous studies have shown that cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine, a ntagonizes some of the effects of nicotine. One study showed that coti nine eliminates the beneficial effects of the nicotine patch in reduci ng cigarette withdrawal symptoms. The purpose of this study was to exa mine the effects of various doses of cotinine on cigarette self-admini stration. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three doses of cot inine fumarate (40, 80 and 160 mg) and placebo, each for a period of 1 0 days, in a randomized order. Outcome variables included measures of nicotine intake and subjective responses to smoked cigarettes. Results showed no differences in the number of cigarettes smoked, carbon mono xide levels, and weights of cigarette butts across the various doses o f cotinine and placebo. However, higher nicotine serum levels were obs erved in the 160 mg cotinine fumarate condition compared to placebo an d to 40mg cotinine fumarate. No systematic effects of cotinine on subj ective responses to cigarettes were observed. Cotinine appears potenti ally to have a selective modulatory effect on nicotine withdrawal symp toms but not on cigarette smoking.