Cigarette Filter Study for Smokers
This study is looking at how different cigarette filters affect people's perceptions and smoking habits. Researchers want to see if charcoal-filtered cigarettes, like Natural American Spirit Sky or Tareyton, are smoked differently than non-charcoal filtered ones, such as Natural American Spirit Yellow. They also want to understand if the type of filter changes how people view the cigarettes and their potential health risks. You might be able to join if you are at least 21 years old, smoke at least 5 non-menthol cigarettes a day, and are not trying to quit smoking. The study will measure your beliefs about risks and your subjective ratings of the cigarettes after 35 days.
- Study design
- This is a 5-week randomized study where 252 participants will be assigned to one of three groups: charcoal-filtered cigarettes with marketing, charcoal-filtered cigarettes without marketing, or non-charcoal filtered cigarettes.
- What's involved
- You will first smoke your usual brand for 7 days. Then, for 28 days, you will smoke the study-assigned cigarettes and attend weekly sessions to assess outcomes.
- Compensation
- Not stated in the trial record.
- Follow-up
- Your risk beliefs, perceived health risks, and subjective ratings will be measured at Day 35.
AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.
Cigarette Filter Study
At a glance
Conditions
Where it's being run
1 sites across 1 statesStudy leadership
- Melissa Mercincavage, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Who to contact
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Do you actually qualify for this trial?
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Inclusion
Exclusion
What this trial measures
- Risk beliefsDay 35
Risk beliefs will be captured via 8 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = "definitely untrue", 5 = "definitely true") that evaluate participants' preferred brand and the cigarettes they smoke on the following beliefs: a) "lower in nicotine", b) "lower in tar", c) "less addictive", d) "less likely to cause cancer", e) "has fewer chemicals", f) "is healthier", g) "makes smoking safer", h) "helps people quit smoking." Individual items will be scores as correct or incorrect, and incorrect responses will be summed to created an overall false beliefs score (0-8 range, with higher scores indicating greater false beliefs about reduced risk.
- Perceived health risksDay 35
Participants will indicate on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = "very low risk", 7 = "very high risk") their risk of developing smoking-related health conditions (i.e., lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, emphysema, respiratory infections, and other cancers) from regular use of the cigarette they are smoking. Higher mean scores indicate greater perceived risk (range 1-7).
- Subjective ratingsDay 35
Participants will rate cigarettes smoked during in-person visits using 14 individual items assessing various cigarette characteristics (e.g., strength, taste, satisfaction, harshness) used by the tobacco industry and our laboratory. Items are rated on a 100 mm visual analog scale with item-specific anchors (e.g., strength: 0 = "very weak," 100 = "very strong"); lower scores indicate less favorable ratings. We will examine mean composite scales generated from these items to assess domains of product harshness, smoking satisfaction, positive sensory experience, and cleanliness.
- Daily cigarette consumptionDay 35
Daily cigarette consumption will be assessed by participant self-report and verified through collection of used filters for all cigarettes smoked during the 5-week study. The mean will be computed for daily cigarette consumption during the week preceding final study session (i.e., mean of cigarettes smoked per day between Sessions 5 and 6, or Days 28-35).
- Smoking topography (puffs taken)Day 35
We will use a validated procedure to score video recorded smoking sessions to quantify puffing behavior to obtain estimated number of puffs taken.
- Smoking topography (total duration)Day 35
We will use a validated procedure to score video recorded smoking sessions to quantify puffing behavior to obtain estimates of the duration of each puff, and sum these to create a summary composite measure (in sec).
- Smoking topography (total interpuff interval)Day 35
We will use a validated procedure to score video recorded smoking sessions to quantify puffing behavior to obtain estimates of interpuff interval (i.e., time between puffs) and created a summed composite (in sec).
- Session onset carbon monoxide (CO)Day 35
CO will be assessed in ppm using the coVita Micro+ pro Smokerlyzer breath CO monitor (Santa Barbara, CA) at session onset to estimate daily tobacco exposure.
- Carbon monoxide (CO) boostDay 35
CO will be assessed in ppm using the coVita Micro+ pro Smokerlyzer breath CO monitor (Santa Barbara, CA) before and after each cigarette smoked. The change in CO resulting from smoking a cigarette, CO boost, estimates exposure due to smoking an individual cigarette.
- Tobacco/nicotine exposureDay 35
Total nicotine equivalents exposure will be assessed via measuring urine concentrations of nicotine metabolites by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) using Waters Xevo® TQ-XS Tandem Mass Spectrometer with ACQUITY UPLC I-Class Chromatography System (UPLC-MS-MS). Greater values indicate greater exposure.
- NNAL exposureDay 35
We will assess NNAL (4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol), a metabolite of NNK (4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone), a potent lung carcinogen. A highly sensitive UHPLC-MS/MS method with Waters Xevo® TQ-XS UPLC-MS-MS will determine total NNAL in urine using liquid-liquid extraction followed by conversion to the hexanoate ester derivative. Greater values indicate greater exposure.
- VOC exposureDay 35
We will collect a urine sample to assess exposure to seven volatile organic compounds (VOCs) due to their association with adverse health effects such as cancer, birth defects, and neurological damage S-(3-hydroxypropyl)-mercapturic acid (3HPMA, a metabolite of potentially toxic acrolein; 2-Carbamoyl-2-hydroxy-ethyl mercapturic acid (2CAHEMA, a metabolite of a neurotoxicant acrylamide); 2-carbamoyl-2-hydroxy-ethyl mercapturic acid (2CYEMA, a metabolite of a potent respiratory irritant acrylonitrile); phenyl mercapturic acid (PHMA, a metabolite of IARC Group 1 carcinogen benzene); benzyl mercapturic acid (BZMA, a metabolite of IARC Group 3 carcinogen toluene); 2,4-Dimethylphenyl mercapturic acid (24MPHMA, a metabolite of IARC Group 3 carcinogen xylene); and N-Acetyl-S-(4-hydroxy-2- buten-1-yl)-L-cysteine (MHBMA3, a metabolite of 1,3-Butadiene).