Nicotine - Older Adults (50+)

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Smoking and Smoking Cessation

2021: Paper: Ignoring our elders: tobacco control’s forgotten health equity issue

• Those who suffer multiple forms of stigmatisation and feel devalued in society find it harder than higher status, socially valued individuals to change health behaviours, lacking resources and social encouragement to do so. The deprioritisation of older smokers is a symptom of institutionalised ageism, which must be addressed systematically to apply the tenets of health equity and inclusion in our work. Across all areas of tobacco control, we must do better by our elders.
  • Citation: McAfee T, Malone RE, Cataldo J, Ignoring our elders: tobacco control’s forgotten health equity issue. Tobacco Control 2021;30:479-480.

2019: Article: Older Smokers Are the Forgotten Victims of Our Vaping Wars

• I’ve since discovered that older smokers, like all of us, have a lot to learn about smoking. Older people are more likely than younger smokers to think that the evidence about the harms of smoking has been exaggerated, and that smoking is something they can do little to change. They are also more likely to inaccurately believe that nicotine is the primary disease-causing ingredient in cigarettes, and that cigarettes without nicotine are safer than those with nicotine.
  • Source: Annie Kleykamp, Filter Magazine

2018: Power Point: Rethinking nicotine across the lifespan: What about the older smoker?

• GFN: Annie Kleykamp, PhD

2017: Article: Some Older Smokers Turn to Vaping. That May Not Be a Bad Idea.

• A retired secretary in her 70s, she’s often the oldest customer in the shop. Not that she cares. What matters is that after ignoring decades of doctors’ warnings and smoking two packs a day, she hasn’t lit up a conventional cigarette in four years and four months...But while the proportion of Americans who smoke continues to decrease — down to 15.1 percent in 2015 — the decline has stalled among older adults.
• Archived Link
  • Source: Paula Span, The New York Times

2017: Article: Vaping Becoming Popular Among Older Smokers

• Public health officials, however, are divided over vaping’s benefits for older smokers. Some say it reduces the harm of smoking and it's better than doing nothing...“Old policies need to be supplemented with policies that encourage substituting e-cigarettes for the far more deadly cigarettes,” said David Levy, a professor of oncology at Georgetown University's School of Medicine and the leader of the study.
  • Source: Beth Brophy, AARP

2011: Paper: The Older Smoker

• Understanding how these age-related differences impact smoking-related outcomes (eg, tobacco withdrawal, acute effects of smoking, treatment efficacy) is limited because research examining older smokers is lacking. In a systematic review of tobacco withdrawal symptoms, the mean (SD) age of participants across 15 studies, chosen for their scientific rigor, was 37.8 (8.1) years.
• PDF Full Paper
  • Citation: Kleykamp, B. A., & Heishman, S. J. (2011). The Older Smoker. JAMA, 306(8). doi:10.1001/jama.2011.1221

Smokeless Products

Snus

2021: Swedish snuff (snus) and risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality: prospective cohort study of middle-aged and older individuals

• In this middle-aged and elderly Swedish population, current Swedish snus use was not associated with the risk of major heart and valvular diseases, abdominal aortic aneurysm, or CVD mortality in the entire study population, but was linked to an increased risk of stroke in never smokers.
  • Citation: Titova OE, Baron JA, Michaëlsson K, Larsson SC. Swedish snuff (snus) and risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality: prospective cohort study of middle-aged and older individuals. BMC Med. 2021 May 7;19(1):111. doi: 10.1186/s12916-021-01979-6. PMID: 33957912; PMCID: PMC8103653.
    • Acknowledgements: Work of the authors is supported by grants from the Geriatric Foundation, research for healthy aging, and Börjeson, Emil and Ragna Foundation (to O.E.T.), the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (Forte; grant number 2018-00123) (to S.C.L.), the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet; grant number 2016-01042 and 2019-00977) (to S.C.L.), and the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation (Hjärt-Lungfonden; grant number 20190247) (to S.C.L.). The study was also supported by additional grants from the Swedish Research Council (https://www.vr.se; grant no 2015-03257, 2017-00644 and 2017-06100 to KM). SIMPLER receives funding through the Swedish Research Council under the grant no 2017-00644 (to Uppsala University and KM). SNIC is financially supported by the Swedish Research Council. The funding sources had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Open Access funding provided by Uppsala University.

Therapeutic Benefits

Memory

MIND (Memory Improvement through Nicotine Dosing) Study

• The MIND Study is by far the largest and longest-running study of its kind, testing whether nicotine can improve memory loss.

2013 Nicotine Prevents Synaptic Impairment Induced by Amyloid-β Oligomers Through α7-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Activation

• Animal Study
• Taken together, these results demonstrate that nicotine prevents memory deficits and synaptic impairment induced by Aβ oligomers. In addition, nicotine improves memory in young APP/PS1 transgenic mice before extensive amyloid deposition and senile plaque development, and also in old mice where senile plaques have already formed.
• PDF Version
  • Citation: Inestrosa, N.C., Godoy, J.A., Vargas, J.Y. et al. Nicotine Prevents Synaptic Impairment Induced by Amyloid-β Oligomers Through α7-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Activation. Neuromol Med 15, 549–569 (2013). doi: 10.1007/s12017-013-8242-1
    • Acknowledgements: We thank Dr. Rodrigo Varas for his help with the electrophysiological studies of the α7-nAChR. This work was supported by a grant from FONDECYT No 120156 to N.C.I; predoctoral fellowships from CONICYT to G.G.F., M.S.A. F.G.S., J.A.R. and from Fundación Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho to J.Y.V. The Basal Center of Excellence in Science and Technology CARE was funded by CONICYT/PFB 12/2007.

Mental Health

2020 Regulation of aggressive behaviors by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors: Animal models, human genetics, and clinical studies

• Human and Animal Studies
• Clinical trials and case series report anti-aggressive effects of nicotine. Here we argue that the nAChR system, the molecular basis for the global public health problem of tobacco smoking, may also be a key target for modulation of aggressive behaviors. Future research should aim to clarify which forms of aggression are most strongly affected by nAChR modulation, identify the nAChR subtypes, circuits, and neurobiological mechanisms of nicotine action, and determine whether more selective nAChR-active agents can replicate or improve the serenic effects of nicotine, especially with chronic dosing. Given the prevalence of aggressive behaviors across neuropsychiatric disorders affecting the very young to the very old, these studies have the potential to have a significant impact on public health.
• PDF Version
  • Citation: Alan S. Lewis, Marina R. Picciotto, Regulation of aggressive behaviors by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors: Animal models, human genetics, and clinical studies, Neuropharmacology, Volume 167, 2020, 107929, ISSN 0028-3908, doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2019.107929.
    • Acknowledgements: This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants MH116339 (A.S.L.), MH077681 and DA14241 (M.R.P.).

2018 Nicotine and networks: Potential for enhancement of mood and cognition in late-life depression

• Nicotine improves cognitive performance in clinical and preclinical studies.
• Nicotine may also benefit depressive symptoms and depressive behavior.
• Cognitive and mood benefits may be mediated by nicotinic effect on neural networks.
• Nicotine’s effects on networks may reverse network changes seen in depression.
• Improvement to mood and cognition may particularly benefit older depressed adults.
• Both preclinical and clinical studies support that nicotine and other nAChR agonists can improve depressive behavior, mood, and cognitive performance. nAChR agonists also demonstrate neuropharmacologic effects that oppose the intrinsic network alterations reported in MDD. Through modulation of intrinsic functional networks, nAChR agonists may reduce depressive symptoms, enhance emotional regulation ability, and improve cognitive deficits common in LLD. For these reasons, we propose nAChR agonists as a potential novel treatment for the mood and cognitive symptoms of LLD.
• PDF Version
  • Citation: Gandelman, J. A., Newhouse, P., & Taylor, W. D. (2018). Nicotine and networks: Potential for enhancement of mood and cognition in late-life depression. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 84, 289–298. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.08.0
    • Acknowledgement: Supported by NIH grants K24 MH110598 and CTSA award UL1TR000445 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

Very Low Nicotine Content Cigarettes

2021: Responses to Gradual and Immediate Reduction of Nicotine in Cigarettes in Young Versus Older Adult Smokers

• Note: "Older" adults were 25+ (Some, maybe all, were not in the age group this page is compiling information on.)
• These results indicate that an immediate reduction in nicotine would result in beneficial effects in both young and older adults. Young adults show less positive subjective effects of smoking following switching to VLNC cigarettes relative to older adults.
  • Citation: Cassidy RN, Tidey JW, Cao Q, Colby SM, McClernon FJ, Smith TT, Dermody S, Koopmeiners JS, Jensen JA, Strayer LG, Donny EC, Hatsukami D. Responses to Gradual and Immediate Reduction of Nicotine in Cigarettes in Young Versus Older Adult Smokers. Nicotine Tob Res. 2021 Aug 18;23(9):1559-1566. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntab049. PMID: 33754156; PMCID: PMC8372658.
    • Acknowledgements: The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the Food and Drug Administration. Research supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Food and Drug Administration Center for Tobacco Products (U54DA031659; Donny/Hatsukami). Manuscript preparation supported by NCI K01CA189300 (PI Cassidy), K01DA047433 (Smith), and NIDA P50DA036114.