Abstract
Although nicotine and caffeine have separately been shown to acutely increase subjective arousal, their combined effects are unclear. Furthermore, their effects during casual physical activity, the condition under which individuals usually experience nicotine and caffeine, are unknown. Smokers who were regular coffee drinkers (n=19, 9 males, 10 females) participated in eight morning sessions, involving nicotine/placebo, caffeine/no caffeine, and rest/physical activity (i.e. 2×2×2 within-subjects design). Nicotine (15 µg/kg) or placebo was given via measured-dose nasal spray intermittently after consumption of decaf coffee with or without added caffeine (5 mg/kg), followed by subjective [Profile of Mood States (POMS), Stress-Arousal Checklist, visual analog scales] and cardiovascular (heart rate, blood pressure) measures. Casual physical activity was standardized by low-intensity bicycle riding while sitting comfortably. Results indicated significant subjective and cardiovascular effects of nicotine and caffeine individually, with the combination of nicotine and caffeine generally producing additive or greater than additive effects for each measure. However, activity mediated some of the subjective effects of nicotine, as nicotine appeared to be “stimulating” during rest but not during activity. There were no differences between males and females. These findings suggest that nicotine per se and caffeine generally have additive subjective and cardiovascular effects, and that nicotine may influence subjective stimulation differentially depending on whether a smoker is resting or engaged in casual activity.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Astrup A, Toubro S, Cannon S, Hein P, Breum L, Madsen J (1990) Caffeine: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of its thermogenic, metabolic, and cardiovascular effects in healthy volunteers. Am J Clin Nutr 51:759–767
Astrand P-O, Rodahl K (1977) Textbook of work physiology, 3rd edn. McGraw Hill, New York
Casal DC, Leon AS (1985) Failure of caffeine to affect substrate utilization during prolonged running. Med Sci Sports Exerc 17:174–179
deWit HJ, Pierri J, Johanson CE (1989) Reinforcing and subjective effects of diazepam in nondrug-abusing volunteers. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 33:205–213
Fagerstrom K-O (1978) Measuring degree of physical dependence to tobacco smoking with reference to individualization of treatment. Addict Behav 3:235–241
Fischman MW, Foltin RW (1991) Utility of subjective-effects measurements in assessing abuse liability of drugs in humans. Br J Addict 86:1563–1570
Griffiths RR, Woodson PP (1988) Caffeine physical dependence: a review of human and laboratory animal studies. Psychopharmacology 94:437–451
Griffiths RR, Evans SM, Heishman SJ, Preston KL, Sannerud CA, Wolf B, Woodson PP (1990) Low-dose caffeine physical dependence in humans. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 255:1123–1132
Heishman SJ, Stitzer ML (1989) Effect ofd-amphetamine, secobarbital, and marijuana on choice behavior: social versus nonsocial options. Psychopharmacology 99:156–162
Henningfield JE, Miyasato K, Jasinski DR (1985) Abuse liability and pharmacodynamic characteristics of intravenous and inhaled nicotine. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 234:1–12
Istvan J, Matarazzo JD (1984) Tobacco, alcohol and caffeine use: a review of their interrelationships. Psychol Bull 95:301–326
Jin P (1992) Toward a reconceptualization of the law of initial value. Psychol Bull 111:176–184
Kreek MJ (1990) Drug interactions in humans related to drug abuse and its treatment. In: Adler M, Cowan A (eds) Modern methods in pharmacology, vol 6. Wiley-Liss, New York, pp 265–282
Kuznicki JT, Turner LS (1986) The effects of caffeine on caffeine users and non-users. Physiol Behav 37:397–408
Levin ED, Rose JE, Behm F, Caskey N (1990). The effects of smoking-related sensory cues on psychological stress. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 39:265–268
Mackey CJ (1980) The measurement of mood and psychophy siological activity using self-report techniques. In: Martin I., Venables PH (eds) Techniques in psychophysiology. Wiley, New York, pp 501–562
Marshall WR, Epstein LH, Green SB (1980) Coffee drinking and cigarette smoking: I. Coffee, caffeine, and cigarette smoking behavior. Addict Behav 5:389–394
McNair DM, Loor M, Droppelman LF (1971) Profile of mood states. Educational and Testing Service, San Diego, CA
Meade TW, Wald NJ (1977) Cigarette smoking patterns during the work day. Br J Prev Soc Med 31:25–29
Perkins KA, Grobe JE (1992) Increased desire to smoke during acute stress. Br J Addict 87:1037–1040
Perkins KA, Epstein LH, Stiller RL, Jennings JR, Christiansen C, McCarthy T (1986) An aerosol spray alternative to cigarette smoking in the study of the behavioral and physiological effects of nicotine. Behav Res Methods Instr Comput 18:420–426
Perkins KA, Epstein LH, Marks BL, Stiller RL, Jacob RG (1989) The effects of nicotine on energy expenditure during light physical activity. New Engl J Med 320:898–903
Perkins KA, Epstein LH, Stiller RL, Sexton JE, Marks BL, Jacob RG (1990) The cardiovascular effects of nicotine during physical activity and following meal consumption. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol 17:327–334
Perkins KA, Sexton JE, Solberg-Kassel RD, Epstein LH (1991) Effects of nicotine on perceived exertion during low-intensity activity. Med Sci Sports Exerc 23:1283–1288
Perkins KA, Grobe JE, Epstein LH, Caggiula AR, Stiller RL (1992a) Effects of nicotine on subjective arousal may be dependent on baseline subjective state. J Subst Abuse 4:131–141
Perkins KA, Grobe JE, Fonte C, Breus M (1992b) ‘Paradoxical’ effects of smoking on subjective stress versus cardiovascular arousal in males and females. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 42:301–311
Perkins KA, Grobe JE, Epstein LH, Caggiula A, Stiller RL, Jacob RG (1993) Chronic and acute tolerance to subjective effects of nicotine. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 45:375–381.
Ray RL, Nellis MJ, Brady JV, Foltin RW (1986) Nicotine and caffeine effects on the task-elicited blood pressure response. Addict Behav 11:31–36
Rose JE (1986) Cigarette smoking blocks caffeine-induced arousal. Alc Drug Res 7:49–55
Rose JE, Behm FM (1991) Psychophysiological interactions between caffeine and nicotine. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 38:333–337
Roth GM, McDonald JB, Sheard C (1944) The effect of smoking cigarets. JAMA 125:761–767
Stolerman IP, Mariathasan EA, Garcha HS (1991) Discriminative stimulus effects of drug mixtures in rats. In: Glennon RA, Jarbe TUC, Frankenheim J (eds) Drug discrimination: applications to drug abuse research. NIDA Research Monograph 116. US Government Printing Office, Washington DC, pp 277–306
Sung BH, Lovallo WR, Pincomb GA, Wilson MF (1990) Effects of caffeine on blood pressure response during exercise in normotensive healthy young men. Am J Cardiol 65:909–913
US Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) (1988) The health consequences of smoking: Nicotine addiction. US Government Printing Office, Washington DC
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported by Grants DA-04174 and DA-05807 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Perkins, K.A., Sexton, J.E., Stiller, R.L. et al. Subjective and cardiovascular responses to nicotine combined with caffeine during rest and casual activity. Psychopharmacology 113, 438–444 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02245220
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02245220