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NCT03856515

Gender Differences in Switching From Smoking Regular Cigarettes to E-Cigarettes

Completed NA Results posted Last updated 28 January 2026
What this trial tests

NA trial testing Nicotine Replacement in Cigarette Smoking-Related Carcinoma in 169 participants. Completed in 7 January 2026.

Timeline
2 June 2022
Primary endpoint
24 June 2024
7 January 2026

Quick facts

Lead sponsorM.D. Anderson Cancer Center
PhaseNA
StatusCompleted
Study typeINTERVENTIONAL
Allocationrandomized
Designcrossover
Maskingdouble
Primary purposeprevention
Enrollment169
Start date2 June 2022
Primary completion24 June 2024
Estimated completion7 January 2026
Sites1 location across United States

Drugs / interventions tested

Conditions studied

Sponsor

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center — full company profile →

Who can join

21 and older, any sex, with Cigarette Smoking-Related Carcinoma. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Results — posted to ClinicalTrials.gov

Per-arm endpoint measurements with 95% confidence intervals where reported. Source: trial results section.

Cigarettes Per Day Primary · 2 weeks

Mean cigarettes per day (CPD) smoked during the phase

GroupValue95% CI
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Men)14.20± 9.01
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)4.08± 6.31
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)4.55± 7.25
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Women)14.09± 7.66
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)3.85± 5.30
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)3.63± 4.72
Electronic Cigarette Sessions Per Day Secondary · 2 weeks

Study electronic cigarette use measured by the mean number of sessions per day during each phase for male and female participants.

GroupValue95% CI
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)11.32± 9.49
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)10.33± 8.93
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)10.78± 9.28
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)10.84± 10.84
Total Nicotine Equivalents (TNE) Secondary · 2 weeks

A measure of nicotine exposure, calculated as the sum of total nicotine, cotinine, 3'-hydroxycotinine, and nicotine N-oxide excreted in urine, collected at the end of each phase for male and female participants.

GroupValue95% CI
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Men)42.01± 37.40
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)30.98± 30.12
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)39.97± 36.44
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Women)41.19± 33.44
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)39.46± 38.80
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)41.75± 42.11
Anabasine Secondary · 2 weeks

A tobacco minor alkaloid (MA) excreted in urine collected at the end of each phase for male and female participants to evaluate nicotine product exposure.

GroupValue95% CI
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Men)92.69± 155.35
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)56.60± 97.03
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)71.45± 98.16
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Women)76.19± 92.95
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)72.90± 107.13
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)65.61± 83.24
Nicotelline Secondary · 2 weeks

A tobacco minor alkaloid (MA) excreted in urine collected at the end of each phase for male and female participants to evaluate nicotine product exposure.

GroupValue95% CI
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Men)0.64± 4.53
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)0.38± 2.05
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)0.42± 2.92
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Women)1.63± 7.98
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)2.22± 8.42
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)1.08± 3.73
Perceived Health Risk Questionnaire (PHRQ) Secondary · 2 weeks

Evaluation of participants' beliefs about their risks of developing health conditions from cigarettes or electronic cigarette collected at the end of each phase for male and female participants. Range 1-10, with higher values indicating greater perceived risk of negative health outcomes.

GroupValue95% CI
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Men)8.15± 2.18
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)8.35± 2.22
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)8.43± 2.06
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Women)9.05± 1.99
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)9.21± 1.79
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)9.23± 2.03
Product Evaluation Scales (PES) Secondary · 2 weeks

Evaluation of explicit cigarette or electronic cigarette product liking collected at the end of each phase for male and female participants. Range 1-7, with higher values indicating more unpleasant ratings.

GroupValue95% CI
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Men)4.33± 0.98
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)3.30± 0.98
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)3.44± 1.04
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Women)4.51± 1.12
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)3.42± 1.17
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)3.73± 1.35
Implicit Association Test (IAT) Secondary · 2 weeks

Evaluation of implicit cigarette or electronic cigarette liking collected at the end of each phase for male and female participants. Range: -1 to 1, with more negative values indicating a more negative attitude toward the cigarette product

GroupValue95% CI
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Men)-0.29± 0.53
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)-0.17± 0.48
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)-0.08± 0.50
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Women)-0.32± 0.62
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)-0.15± 0.40
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)-0.25± 0.49
Brief Smoking Consequences Questionnaire-Adult (BSCQ-A) Secondary · 2 weeks

Evaluation of the perceived outcomes of cigarette or electronic cigarette use collected at the end of each phase for male and female participants. Range 0 to 9, with larger values indicating greater perceived negative consequences of cigarette use

GroupValue95% CI
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Men)4.56± 1.22
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)3.68± 1.25
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)3.54± 1.34
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Women)4.61± 1.25
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)3.70± 1.70
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)3.72± 1.84
Purchase Task Breakpoint Measure Secondary · 2 weeks

Evaluation of the Purchase Task Breakpoint measure (first price at which consumption goes to zero, i.e., unwilling to pay) for cigarettes or electronic cigarettes collected at the end of each phase for male and female participants. Range: 0.05 - 251, dollars per cigarette or per electronic cigarette puff with higher values indicating the willingness to smoke/vape at a higher price.

GroupValue95% CI
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Men)13.67± 22.12
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)7.06± 16.97
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)4.65± 9.69
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Women)14.25± 33.22
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)5.73± 10.64
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)7.44± 16.92
Purchase Task Demand Intensity Measure Secondary · 2 weeks

Evaluation of the Purchase Task Demand Intensity measure (consumption at the lowest price) for cigarettes or electronic cigarettes collected at the end of each phase for male and female participants. Range: 1 - 351, the number of cigarettes or electronic cigarette puffs with higher values indicating an intension to smoke/vape more when the price is set as 0

GroupValue95% CI
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Men)20.52± 14.37
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)70.05± 69.59
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)59.08± 51.94
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Women)19.05± 13.14
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)48.06± 43.06
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)60.39± 56.06
Purchase Task Omax Measure Secondary · 2 weeks

Evaluation of the Purchase Task Omax measure (maximum financial expenditure on the product) for cigarettes or electronic cigarettes collected at the end of each phase for male and female participants. Range: 0.03 - 1001, the maximum expenditure in dollars on cigarettes or electronic cigarette puffs with higher values indicating greater expenditure

GroupValue95% CI
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Men)17.96± 22.51
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)24.74± 72.92
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)11.73± 13.09
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Women)35.40± 127.18
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)13.51± 23.20
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)19.94± 65.14

Adverse events — posted to ClinicalTrials.gov

Time frame: 10 weeks. Reporting threshold: 5%. Adverse-event reports describe events observed during the trial — not all are caused by the drug.

Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Men)
Serious: 0/87 (0%)
Deaths: 0/87
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)
Serious: 1/87 (1%)
Deaths: 0/87
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Men)
Serious: 3/87 (3%)
Deaths: 0/87
Usual Brand Cigarette Phase (Women)
Serious: 1/82 (1%)
Deaths: 0/82
Placebo Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)
Serious: 1/82 (1%)
Deaths: 0/82
Nicotine Standardized Research Electronic Cigarette Phase (Women)
Serious: 2/82 (2%)
Deaths: 0/82

Serious adverse events (6 terms)

ReactionSystemUsual Brand Cigarette Phas…Placebo Standardized Resea…Nicotine Standardized Rese…Usual Brand Cigarette Phas…Placebo Standardized Resea…Nicotine Standardized Rese…
Abdominal PainGastrointestinal disorders
DyspneaRespiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders
Flu Like SymptomsGeneral disorders
Gastrointestinal Disorders - OtherGastrointestinal disorders
PsychosisNervous system disorders
Upper Respiratory InfectionRespiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders

Most-reported serious reactions: Abdominal Pain, Dyspnea, Flu Like Symptoms, Gastrointestinal Disorders - Other, Psychosis, Upper Respiratory Infection.

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03856515 adverse events section.

Sponsor's own description

This early phase I trial studies potential differences between men and women when switching from the use of combustible cigarettes to the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Standard Research E-Cigarette (SREC). Studying the differences between men and women may increase understanding about the effects of switching from smoking regular cigarettes to electronic cigarettes.

Publications & conference data

1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

  1. Standardized research electronic cigarette acceptability among adult men and women who smoke combustible cigarettes.
    Robinson JD, Cui Y, Karam-Hage M, Blalock JA, et al · · 2025 · PMID 41051837 · DOI 10.1037/adb0001100

Verify or expand the search:

Other trials of Nicotine Replacement

Trials testing the same drug.

Other recruiting trials for Cigarette Smoking-Related Carcinoma

Currently open trials in the same condition.

Other M.D. Anderson Cancer Center trials

Trials by the same sponsor.

Verify against primary sources

Data sources for this page

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Primary sources · FDA · ClinicalTrials.gov · EMA · SEC EDGAR · ChEMBL · Wikidata · full sourcing