Young adult waterpipe smokers: Smoking behaviors and associated subjective and physiological effects

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate smoking behaviors and subjective and physiological effects of nicotine on young adult occasional waterpipe smokers. Methods: This study utilized a repeated-measures design that included one repeated factor for condition (nicotine and non-nicotine). For each participant, the sequencing of the repeated factor was assigned using random allocation. The two nicotine conditions were nicotine (0.75. g) and non-nicotine (0. g placebo) tobacco. Over the course of two weeks, twenty-two participants completed subjective (Acute Subjective Effects of Nicotine) and physiological (blood pressure, heart rate, and CO level) measures. Additional measures (QSU and MNWS-R) were used to assess for withdrawal symptoms. Sample: The participants (n. = 22) were young adults (23. ±. 3.1. years); 71% smoked waterpipe once a month in the past year and 29% smoked waterpipe 1-2 times per week. In addition, 60% reported sharing their waterpipe with friends while smoking. None of the participants reported using any other forms of tobacco products. Results: Under the nicotine condition, participants tended to smoke longer (i.e. smoking duration, p=0.004), take more puffs (p=0.03), take shorter puffs (p=0.03), and inhale less volume with each puff (p=0.02). The repeated measures analysis of the factor headrush revealed an effect of the nicotine condition (F=9.69, p<0.001, partial η2=0.31) and time (F=8.17, p=0.02, partial η2=0.30). Heart rate increased significantly across the nicotine condition (F=7.92, p=0.01, partial η2=0.31) and over time (F=12.64, p=0.01, partial η2=0.41). Conclusions: This study demonstrates how differences between nicotine and non-nicotine waterpipe smoking are associated with changes in smoking behaviors, experiencing a headrush and an increase in heart rate. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.