Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph No. 7 
and colleagues (1991), Russell and colleagues (1975), and Zacny and Stitzer 
(1988). 
Figure 1 shows the pattern of results across the five studies. The solid 
line summarizes results from the studies after adjusting for changes in the 
number of cigarettes smoked. As nicotine yields go below the usual 
"normal" levels (1.0 to 1.4 mg nicotine), more compensation takes place 
until the lowest yield is reached. At this point, too much work may be 
required of smokers to achieve substantial compensation. This kind of dose- 
response pattern is consistent with that for other reinforcers. It may not be 
important to compensate for a 0.9-mg nicotine cigarette; it easily provides 
adequate levels of nicotine. The dashed line shows what happens when 
there is no adjustment for changes in the number of cigarettes smoked. 
This shows that compensation also is supported by an increase in cigarettes 
per day in these brand-switching studies (the 0.4-mg nicotine cigarette now 
shows close to 80 percent compensation). 
Figure 1 
Pattern of results illustrating percentage compensation across the five reviewed studies, 
unadjusted (dashed line) and adjusted (solid line) for number of cigarettes 
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