Assessment of the abuse liability of three menthol Vuse Solo electronic cigarettes relative to combustible cigarettes and nicotine gum

RATIONALE: We previously reported that following a short-term product use period, use of non-menthol Vuse Solo electronic cigarettes (ECs) resulted in product effect-related subjective responses and nicotine uptake between those of combustible cigarettes (high-abuse liability comparator) and nicotine gum (low-abuse liability comparator); the results were generally closer to those of nicotine gum. OBJECTIVE: Using a similar design to the previous study, we evaluated the abuse liability of three menthol-flavored Vuse Solo ECs with the same nicotine contents (14, 29, and 36 mg) in a group of EC-naïve, menthol cigarette smokers, relative to comparator products. METHODS: Six-hour nicotine uptake and ratings of subjective effects were used to determine abuse liability and pharmacokinetics. RESULTS: Use of menthol Vuse Solo resulted in significantly lower responses to subjective measurements (product liking, intent to use product again, and liking of positive product effects), higher urge to smoke responses, and a lower peak (C(max)) and overall extent (AUC(0–360)) of nicotine uptake compared to smoking the usual brand menthol cigarette. When compared with use of nicotine gum, subjective responses to use of menthol Vuse ECs were in the same direction as those resulting from smoking cigarettes but were more similar to nicotine gum use in magnitude than they were to cigarettes. CONCLUSION: These findings are concordant with our previous results and provide evidence that menthol Vuse Solo ECs have abuse liability that is lower than menthol cigarettes and potentially greater than that of nicotine gum. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02664012 ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s00213-018-4904-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.