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Biomedical subjects

S R Sutton

Publications and source records attributed to S R Sutton.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Great expectations: some suggestions for applying the balanced placebo design to nicotine and smoking.

There are a number of methodological problems with the traditional placebo-controlled design used to investigate the effects of nicotine in human subjects. For example, the experimental instructions may create a 'guessing set' in the participants such that they search for possible clues to try to identify which condition they are in. If they guess correctly, the internal validity of the design may be threatened. Furthermore, by attempting to control for the effect of subjects' expectancies, the traditional placebo design precludes any estimate of expectancy effects. Continued use of this methodology in the smoking field is likely to lead to an overemphasis on pharmacological factors in smoking and a corresponding underemphasis on cognitive factors and nicotine-expectancy interactions. These problems can be overcome by the use of the balanced placebo design which orthogonally manipulates instructions (Told Nicotine versus Told Placebo) and nicotine (Received Nicotine versus Received Placebo). The balanced placebo design offers a powerful methodology for studying many aspects of smoking behaviour and nicotine effects, and three examples are given to illustrate its potential in this field: nicotine titration, nicotine and performance, and priming effects in smoking relapse.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMed1987

Experimental evaluation of the BBC TV series "So You Want To Stop Smoking?".

This paper reports a controlled evaluation of the six-part BBC TV series "So You Want To Stop Smoking?" which aimed to give advice and encouragement to smokers who wanted to stop. In an experimental design, 134 cigarette smokers in two firms were shown either the first two programs in the series or a control film of the same length. Smokers in the former group were asked to watch the remaining four programs at home on their own television sets. Questionnaires were sent to participants four months and one year later, and claims of abstinence were validated biochemically. The results did not provide clear evidence that the BBC series was more effective in encouraging smokers to try to stop and helping them to succeed than the control film. For comparison with our own results, we also abstract some findings from an uncontrolled but larger-scale evaluation conducted by the BBC's research department.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Trying to stop smoking: effects of perceived addiction, attributions for failure, and expectancy of success.

This paper reports the results of a postal questionnaire completed by 2343 smokers who had contacted a television company for help with stopping smoking. Of these, 1848 (78.9%) completed a follow-up questionnaire 1 year later. This indicated that 797 had tried to stop, 709 had tried to cut down, and 164 had become abstinent. Analyses show that the intention to try to stop smoking was dependent not only on the perceived health benefit, but also on the subjects' confidence that they would succeed if they tried to stop. As predicted by Weiner's [(1979). J. Educ. Psychol. 71: 3-25] model of achievement motivation, those who attributed other smokers' failures at quitting to stable factors had lower expectancies of success, as had those who saw themselves as more addicted. When the follow-up data are considered, reported attempts at quitting were strongly related to previously declared intentions, and reported abstinence was related to previous confidence (expectancy of success) and perceived addiction. There is no support for hypotheses concerning self-other differences in attribution, or defensive attribution, in subjects' attributions for their own failures at cessation. Implications for antismoking interventions are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Adjustment of smokers to dilution of tobacco smoke by ventilated cigarette holders.

This study was designed to examine the extent to which smokers would compensate for the dilution of smoke produced by ventilated cigarette holders. Peak plasma nicotine and carboxyhemoglobin levels were measured in 18 smokers when they had been smoking normally and when they had been using holders which dilute the smoke by about 20% (holder 1) and 60% (holder 2) for periods of 2 days and 7 days. Comparison of the observed blood levels with the "expected" levels estimated from the dilution factors of the holders showed that subjects partially compensated on holder 2 but showed little or no compensation on holder 1. There were no changes in the number of cigarettes smoked when using the holders so any compensation achieved must have been due to increasing the intake from each cigarette. There was wide individual variation in the amount of compensation with about 50% of subjects compensating fairly consistently on both holders. Degree of compensation was not significantly associated with usual cigarette consumption, plasma nicotine and carboxyhemoglobin levels when smoking without a holder, the nicotine yields of the subjects' cigarettes, or the experience of withdrawal symptoms and the degree of satisfaction when using the holders. It cannot be determined from this study whether the compensation observed was mediated by a need to regulate the intake of nicotine rather than some other factor.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Nicotine chewing gum as a substitute for smoking.

The capacity of nicotine-containing chewing gum to produce plasma nicotine levels comparable to heavy cigarette smoking was tested in 21 subjects. On a fixed schedule of one piece of gum (4 mg nicotine) per hour, the average peak plasma nicotine concentration was 175-7 nmol/l (28-5 ng/ml) compared to 189-3 nmol/l (30-7 ng/ml) obtained from normal ad libitum smoking. Unpleasant side effects were common and in some cases plasma nicotine concentrations were two and even three times as high as with smoking; The chewing gum provided some satisfaction to all but four subjects, but its degree was not related to the concentration of plasma nicotine it produced, neither was there an inverse relation between the plasma nicotine concentration while taking the gum and the subjective sense of missing cigarettesmthis suggests that the capacity of the gum to act as a substitute for smoking is not necessarily related to its capacity to provide nicotine. Flexible dosage dictated by individual needs would probably lower the incidence of side effects and might secure closer approximation to smoking concentrations of plasma nicotine.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Smokers, non-smokers and the attribution of addiction.

Questionnaries concerned with attitudes towards cigarette smoking were completed by 368 respondents who were taking part in a survey of audience reactions to one week's television programmes. Cigarette smokers were asked how difficult it would be for them to give up cigarettes, whether they would like to do so, whether they felt they were addicted to cigarettes, and how often a cigarette gave them real pleasure. Non-smokers were asked parallel questions to determine their perceptions of the average cigarette smoker. In comparison to how smokers saw themselves, non smokers saw the average smoker as more addicted, and as deriving less pleasure from cigarettes. Smokers who saw themselves as more addicted felt it would be more difficult for them to give up, smoked more cigarettes per day, said they would like to give up more, and derived somewhat more pleasure from cigarettes. Among those who had never smoked cigarettes, the attribution of addiction to the average smoker was related only to perceived difficulty of giving up. Lesser self-attributed addiction was also relevant to the prediction of which smokers claimed to be trying to reduce or give up smoking. Implications of these data for attribution theory, and for health education, are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An X-ray microprobe facility using synchrotron radiation.

An X-ray microprobe for trace elemental analysis at micrometer spatial resolutions, using synchrotron radiation (SR), is under development. The facility consists of two beamlines, one including a 1:1 focusing mirror and the other an 8:1 ellipsoidal mirror. At present, "white light" is used for excitation of the characteristic X-ray fluorescence lines. Sensitivities in thin biological samples are in the range of 2-20 fg in 100 microns2 areas in 5 min irradiation times. Scanning techniques, as well as microtomography and chemical speciation, are discussed. Application to a specific biomedical study is included.

Animals↗