Cigarette Brand Switching. Relating Assessment Strategies to the Critical Issues

The debate regarding what occurs when people switch to low-tar and low-nicotine cigarettes encompasses three research issues (i.e., risk reduction, nicotine regulation, and compensation), and each requires a different assessment strategy. Yet many studies have failed to differentiate these issues and have offered conclusions that are based on questionable inferences regarding exposure to specific smoke constituents. This article relates the various assessment strategies to the critical issues in cigarette brand switching by: (a) tracing the development of current assessment strategies and clarifying the relative strengths of mouth-level, machine-based, behavioral, and biochemical measures, (b) reviewing a variety of biochemical assessments including carbon monoxide, thiocyanate, nicotine, and cotinine, (c) examining the utility of these measures in risk reduction, nicotine regulation, and compensation studies, and (d) suggesting future directions.