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Cannabidiol reverses attentional bias to cigarette cues in a human experimental model of tobacco withdrawal
Chandni Hindocha Tom P. Freeman Meryem Grabsk Jack B. Stroud Holly Crudgington Alan C. Davies Ravi K. Das William Lawn Celia Morgan H. Valerie Curran
Chandni Hindocha
Tom P. Freeman
Meryem Grabsk
Jack B. Stroud
Holly Crudgington
Alan C. Davies
Ravi K. Das
William Lawn
Celia Morgan
H. Valerie Curran
Abstract
Background and Aims
Cannabidiol (CBD), a non‐intoxicating cannabinoid found in cannabis, may be a promising novel smoking cessation treatment due to its anxiolytic properties, minimal side effects and research showing that it may modify drug cue salience. We used an experimental medicine approach with dependent cigarette smokers to investigate if (1) overnight nicotine abstinence, compared with satiety, will produce greater attentional bias (AB), higher pleasantness ratings of cigarette‐related stimuli and increased craving and withdrawal; and (2) CBD in comparison to placebo, would attenuate AB, pleasantness of cigarette‐related stimuli, craving and withdrawal and not produce any side effects.
Design
Randomized, double‐blind cross‐over study with a fixed satiated session followed by two overnight abstinent sessions.
Setting
UK laboratory.
Participants
Thirty non‐treatment‐seeking, dependent cigarette smokers recruited from the community.
Intervention and comparator
800 mg oral CBD, or matched placebo (PBO) in a counterbalanced order
Measurements
AB to pictorial tobacco cues was recorded using a visual probe task and an explicit rating task. Withdrawal, craving, side effects, heart rate and blood pressure were assessed repeatedly.
Findings
When participants received PBO, tobacco abstinence increased AB (P = 0.001, d = 0.789) compared with satiety. However, CBD reversed this effect, such that automatic AB was directed away from cigarette cues (P = 0.007, d = 0.704) and no longer differed from satiety (P = 0.82). Compared with PBO, CBD also reduced explicit pleasantness of cigarette images (P = 0.011; d = 0.514). Craving (Bayes factor = 7.08) and withdrawal (Bayes factor = 6.95) were unaffected by CBD, but greater in abstinence compared with satiety. Systolic blood pressure decreased under CBD during abstinence.
Conclusions
A single 800‐mg oral dose of cannabidiol reduced the salience and pleasantness of cigarette cues, compared with placebo, after overnight cigarette abstinence in dependent smokers. Cannabidiol did not influence tobacco craving or withdrawal or any subjectively rated side effects.
Keywords
abstinence, attentional bias, cannabidiol, cigarette dependence, craving, withdrawal
Date
2018
Type
Journal article
Journal
Addiction
Book
Volume
113
Issue
9
Page Range
1696-1705
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Behavioural and Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
CC BY 4.0
File Access
Open