The Euphoric Sensations of Cigarettes: Exploring How Operant Conditioning May Be the Missing Link in the Theoretical Understanding of Antidrug Policies

• Author: Wanda E. Leal,Elizabeth L. Borkowski
• DOI: 10.1177/0022042618774838
• Published date: 01 July 2018
• Date: 01 July 2018
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042618774838

Journal of Drug Issues

2018, Vol. 48(3) 485 –502

© The Author(s) 2018

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DOI: 10.1177/0022042618774838

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Article

The Euphoric Sensations of

Cigarettes: Exploring How

Operant Conditioning May Be the

Missing Link in the Theoretical

Understanding of Antidrug Policies

Elizabeth L. Borkowski1 and Wanda E. Leal2

Abstract

This study aims to examine how positive and negative reinforcers during an individual’s first few

cigarettes (cigarette initiation experiences) are associated with adulthood smoking behavior.

Respondents from the Add Health were asked about subjective feelings during their first few

cigarettes. Using ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistic regression, we examine the differential

effects of positive and negative cigarette initiation experiences on 30-day cigarette use in

adulthood and lifetime nicotine dependence. The results indicate that all measures of positive

cigarette initiation experiences are positively associated with both cigarette measures; however,

the opposite is not true of negative cigarette initiation experiences. The results highlight the

misconceptions of antidrug policies aimed at punishment of users, by indicating that positive

experiences influence later cigarette use more than negative experiences. These findings suggest

that drug policies and initiatives aimed at punishment may be misguided and could benefit from

adopting operant conditioning concepts that emphasize reinforcements.

Keywords

cigarette use, drug use, nicotine dependence, cigarette initiation experiences, drug policy

Introduction

On every pack of cigarettes, there is a label from the surgeon general stating a range of adverse

health effects that are caused by smoking tobacco. This label, mandated by Congress with the

Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965, required that all cigarette packages sold in the

United States state that cigarettes may be hazardous to your health (U.S. Department of Health

and Human Services, 2014). With this in mind, we ask a question that many have asked: Why do

individuals continue to smoke cigarettes when they know how hazardous it is?

Previous criminological literature has attempted to answer this question by inserting previ-

ously used criminological theories and correlates, such as social bonds (Krohn, Massey, Skinner,

1Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA

2Texas A&M University–San Antonio, USA

Corresponding Author:

Elizabeth L. Borkowski, College of Criminology & Criminal Justice, Florida State University, 112 S. Copeland Street,

Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA.

Email: elb06f@my.fsu.edu

774838JODXXX10.1177/0022042618774838Journal of Drug IssuesBorkowski and Leal

research-article2018

486 Journal of Drug Issues 48(3)

& Lauer, 1983), strain (Hellerstedt & Jeffery, 1997), and peer influence (Simons-Morton, Haynie,

Crump, Eitel, & Saylor, 2001; Urberg, Değirmencioğlu, & Pilgrim, 1997; Urberg & Shyu, 1990).

While we are not suggesting that previously explored factors do not contribute to the continua-

tion of cigarette smoking, we are proposing that something is missing in these explanations.

More specifically, this study aims to explore whether the mechanisms of operant conditioning

exert effects that take place during the first few cigarettes of an individual’s life, and can predict

future cigarette use.

While we explore cigarettes, a legal drug, this study could be beneficial in understanding

drug-using behavior in general, including both legal and illegal drugs. Under the Controlled

Substances Act, drugs with a potential for abuse are to be scheduled in one of five categories,

with schedule I containing the most addicting and harmful drugs and schedule V containing over-

the-counter medications with a low addiction potential. The schedule I criteria is high potential

for abuse, and no medical value. By definition, cigarettes meet this schedule I criteria because

they are incredibly addicting and have no medical value. However, because all drugs placed in

schedules I or II are automatically illegal, cigarettes are not currently scheduled. Because ciga-

rettes meet the schedule I criteria, there is no reason to believe that behaviors associated with

cigarette use would not generalize to illegal substances. In addition, during times of cigarette

shortages, individuals addicted to nicotine behaved similarly to addicts of illegal drugs by engag-

ing in prostitution and/or trading food rations for cigarettes (Levinthal, 2012; Meister, 2003;

Rakel & Houston, 2016). As such, this study will discuss not only how principles of operant

conditioning can aid in curbing cigarette use but also how it could help create more informed

drug policies that more effectively reduce drug use.

Operant conditioning is a theoretical framework mostly used in the psychology literature. It

asserts that the continuation of behavior is dependent on reinforcement, thus behaviors that result

in positive experiences are more likely to continue than those that result in negative experiences

(Skinner, 1938; Thorndike, 1901). First-time drug use often comes with both positive and negative

experiences. For example, when an individual start’s smoking cigarettes, they experience a host of

new symptoms, some of which are deemed pleasant and others unpleasant. According to the prin-

ciples of operant conditioning, it would be appropriate to hypothesize that when an individual’s

cigarette initiation experience (i.e., their first few cigarettes) is positive, they would be more likely

to continue smoking than someone who had a negative cigarette initiation experience. This theory

asserts that this occurs because the pleasant feelings experienced during the initial smoking period

would repeatedly reinforce the positive aspects of this behavior in the mind of the user, thus lead-

ing to its continuation. It is crucial to examine cigarette initiation experiences because research

shows that symptoms of nicotine dependence can begin as early as 2 weeks after an individual

become a monthly smoker (DiFranza et al., 2000, 2002).

Though a few criminological theories have attempted to include rewards and punishments in

the explanation of behavior, they do not describe the continuation of behavior as a psychological

reinforcement. Using the theoretical framework of operant conditioning, we can explore how

psychological concepts can help build upon criminological theories in explaining antisocial

behavior. Specifically, we address how operant conditioning could lead to more effective drug

policies that do not focus exclusively on punishment.

Many policies and programs that address cigarettes focus on the negative consequences of

smoking, such as the Truth Campaign geared toward reducing youth involvement with tobacco.

Similarly, policies and programs that focus on illicit substances also tend to emphasize the nega-

tive consequences for engaging in this type of behavior, such as death or criminal justice sanc-

tions. One famous example is the D.A.R.E. program. These programs are comparable to the way

the criminal justice system treats drug offenders, which focuses on harsh punishment and severe

sentences. By only emphasizing punishment and negative consequences, most of our current

programs or policies aimed at reducing drug use are based on the principles of deterrence. As