# Nicotine-enhancement of sweetened alcohol consumption: A behavioral economic evaluation

> **NIH GM P20** · UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN · 2026 · $191,583

## Abstract

Tobacco use is one of the greatest public health threats and largest contributors to the global burden of preventable 
death and disease, resulting in over 8 million global tobacco-related deaths annually. Nicotine is the primary addictive 
constituent of tobacco. Research demonstrates that nicotine produces reinforcer value-enhancing effects which may 
contribute to tobacco use above and beyond the primary reinforcing effects of nicotine. Although smoking rates have 
generally decreased over the past few decades, smoking rates among persons with alcohol use disorder (AUD) 
remain as high as 50 to 80%. Persons with AUD who smoke also exhibit greater alcohol consumption than 
nonsmoking persons with AUD. Alcohol is commonly consumed in mixed solution with other appetitive reinforcers— 
frequently sugar carbohydrates or noncaloric sweeteners that increase the palatability of alcohol. Sweetening alcohol 
leads to higher rates of alcohol consumption and intoxication and a growing body of research indicates the consuming 
alcohol mixed with noncaloric sweeteners results in even greater intoxication due to faster gastric emptying. For all 
these reasons, a comprehensive understanding of tobacco use, heavy alcohol use, and the comorbidity between 
nicotine and alcohol dependence must consider the value-enhancing effects of nicotine in conjunction with the various 
nonalcoholic sensory and appetitive reinforcers that commonly accompany alcohol consumption. Our long-term 
objective is to elucidate how the value-enhancing effects of nicotine may contribute to increased alcohol consumption 
and heightened risk of AUD in tobacco users, and thereby inform treatment strategies aimed at smoking cessation 
and curtailing problematic drinking. To that end, the proposed research will employ a behavioral economic demand 
methodology to characterize and compare the value-enhancing effects of nicotine on a range of caloric and noncaloric 
appetitive reinforcers, with or without alcohol,

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11525854
- **Project number:** 5P20GM130461-08
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN
- **Principal Investigator:** SCOTT  BARRETT
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** GM
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $191,583
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2025-09-19T00:00:00 → 2029-02-28T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11525854

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11525854, Nicotine-enhancement of sweetened alcohol consumption: A behavioral economic evaluation (5P20GM130461-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-07-14 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11525854. Licensed CC0.

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