Smokers Report Greater Demand for Alcohol on a Behavioral Economic Purchase Task

Objective: Cigarette smokers have higher levels of alcohol consumption than nonsmokers and poorer response to alcohol treatment. It is possible that the greater severity of alcohol problems observed in smokers reflects a greater susceptibility to alcohol-related reinforcement. The present study used a behavioral economic purchase task to investigate whether heavy drinking smokers would have greater demand for alcohol than heavy drinking nonsmokers. Method: Participants were 207 college students who reported at least one heavy drinking episode in the past month. Of the 207 participants, 33.2% (n = 67) reported smoking cigarettes at least 1 day in the past month. Participants completed the hypothetical alcohol purchase task, a simulation task that asked them to report how many drinks they would purchase at varying price increments. Results: After the participants' reported alcohol consumption, gender, alcohol problems, and depression were controlled for, analyses of covariance revealed that heavy drinking smokers had significantly greater reported maximum alcohol expenditures (O-max), greater maximum inelastic price (P-max), and higher breakpoint values (first price suppressing consumption to zero). Conclusions: College student heavy drinkers who also smoke cigarettes exhibit increased demand for alcohol. Smokers in this high-risk developmental stage may thus be less sensitive to price and other contingencies that would otherwise serve to modulate drinking and may require more intensive intervention approaches.