Smokers’ response to the breath-holding test under nicotine withdrawal conditions: preliminary results

Background: cigarette smoking and panic seem specifically linked. Our aim was to study if nicotine withdrawal influences the panic-like response induced by the Breath Holding test (BH), thus explaining the relationship between smoking and panic. Methods: cross-over design study on 40 current smokers who received nicotine/placebo and underwent the BH in two test days according to a randomized, double blind order. The response to the challenge was evaluated measuring: blood pressure, heart rate, subjective and objective anxiety. The means of physiological and psychological variables were compared via the t-test for dependent samples and the Wilcoxon test. Results: at pre-test, subjects under nicotine had significantly higher blood pressure and heart rate than under placebo. No statistically significant results were found for the effects of nicotine on the BH response. Conclusions: nicotine withdrawal cannot be considered a possible factor triggering the onset of anxiety in current smokers.