Comparing withdrawal symptoms and urge to use in daily vapers versus cigarette smokers
Official title: A controlled evaluation of abstinence-induced withdrawal and motivation to vape/smoke among daily ENDS users vs. cigarette smokers
Funded at State University of New York at Buffalo · NIH-11323917 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project compares how daily vapers and daily cigarette smokers feel and how strong their urge is to vape or smoke after 24 hours without nicotine.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | State University of New York at Buffalo NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Amherst, United States) |
| Project start | June 15, 2022 |
| Project end | April 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $712,561 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DA054276-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11323917 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults age 21 or older who currently vape daily or currently smoke cigarettes daily (including some people who use both) are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People under 21, occasional or past users who do not use daily, or those who only use non-inhaled nicotine products are unlikely to match the study groups and may not benefit.
What this research studies
You'll be asked to join one of the groups of daily vapers, daily smokers, or daily dual users and complete two 4-hour lab visits. The order of a visit after normal use and a visit following 24 hours of abstinence will be randomized for each participant. Researchers will use multiple measurements (surveys, behavioral tasks, and physiological checks) to track craving, mood, concentration, restlessness, sleep, appetite, pleasure loss, and physical symptoms. The goal is to directly compare how withdrawal looks and how it drives motivation to use between vapers and smokers.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help clinicians and quit programs target the specific withdrawal symptoms that make vapers and smokers relapse, improving support to stop nicotine use.
How similar studies have gone: There is a large literature on cigarette withdrawal, but direct, controlled comparisons between daily ENDS vapers and daily cigarette smokers are new, so this approach is partly novel.
Where this research is happening
-
State University of New York at Buffalo
Amherst, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hawk, Larry W — State University of New York at Buffalo
- Study coordinator: Hawk, Larry W
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.