Acute effects of glucose tablets on craving, withdrawal symptoms, and sustained attention in 12-h abstinent tobacco smokers

Rationale: Glucose administration may decrease desire to smoke in abstinent smokers. Moreover, glucose administration has been associated with improved performance on measures of attention in healthy humans but evidence remains modest. Objective: The present study aimed to determine whether reported craving and nicotine withdrawal symptoms can be relieved, and sustained attention on the Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVIP) task improved, with the administration of 12 g oral glucose in nicotine-deprived smokers. Methods: Forty-one smokers, abstinent for 12 It, participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study to examine the effect of glucose on desire to smoke, withdrawal symptoms, and attention. Participants completed the RVIP task once and then rated craving and nicotine withdrawal symptoms before chewing four 3 g glucose tablets (experimental group) or four matched placebo tablets (control group). Following tablet consumption participants rated craving and withdrawal symptoms at 5-min intervals for 20 min. Subsequently a second RVIP task was performed, followed by a final rating of craving and withdrawal symptoms. Results: Any effect of glucose across time was not statistically significant on craving, withdrawal symptoms, or performance on the RVIP task. There were no differences between the groups in measures of 'satisfaction' or 'sickness'. Conclusion: The present study failed to find a significant effect of 12 g oral glucose on tobacco craving, withdrawal symptoms, or sustained attention in relatively young tobacco smokers after 12 h of tobacco abstinence.