Cigarette Filter Study

NCT ID: NCT07348679

Last Updated: 2026-01-16

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 252 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2026-02-15
• Study Completion Date: 2030-12-31

Brief Summary

The overall purpose of this study is to determine the effects of using charcoal-filtered cigarettes on product perceptions, smoking behaviors, and biomarkers of exposure to tobacco-related toxicants. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Do perceptions of cigarettes differ by their filter? Do people smoke charcoal-filtered cigarettes differently than cigarettes with conventional filters, and does this change their exposure to cigarette harms?

Study participants will complete a 5-week laboratory-based, open-label, parallel-design randomized trial. After a baseline period of smoking their preferred brand, participants will smoke charcoal-filtered or non-charcoal-filtered cigarettes for 4 weeks while completing weekly sessions to assess primary outcomes. During weekly sessions, they will smoke two cigarettes in our laboratory, provide urine and carbon monoxide samples, and complete questionnaires.

Conditions

Smoking ( Cigarette)

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

NAS Sky charcoal-filtered cigarettes

Charcoal-filtered cigarettes

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Charcoal filtered cigarettes with marketing

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

After completing a 7-day baseline period of smoking their own preferred brand, participants randomized to the charcoal filtered cigarette with marketing condition will use Natural American Spirit Sky cigarettes for the next 28 days

NAS Yellow non-charcoal-filtered cigarettes

Conventional-filtered cigarettes

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Non-charcoal filtered cigarettes

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

After completing a 7-day baseline period of smoking their own preferred brand, participants randomized to the non-charcoal filtered cigarette condition will use Natural American Spirit Yellow cigarettes for the next 28 days

Tareyton charcoal cigarettes

Charcoal-filtered cigarettes

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Charcoal filtered cigarette without marketing

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

After completing a 7-day baseline period of smoking their own preferred brand, participants randomized to the charcoal filtered cigarette without marketing condition will use Tareyton cigarettes for the next 28 days

Interventions

Charcoal filtered cigarettes with marketing

After completing a 7-day baseline period of smoking their own preferred brand, participants randomized to the charcoal filtered cigarette with marketing condition will use Natural American Spirit Sky cigarettes for the next 28 days

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Charcoal filtered cigarette without marketing

After completing a 7-day baseline period of smoking their own preferred brand, participants randomized to the charcoal filtered cigarette without marketing condition will use Tareyton cigarettes for the next 28 days

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Non-charcoal filtered cigarettes

After completing a 7-day baseline period of smoking their own preferred brand, participants randomized to the non-charcoal filtered cigarette condition will use Natural American Spirit Yellow cigarettes for the next 28 days

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Eligible subjects will be:

1. Male and female smokers who are at least 21 years of age and self-report smoking at least 5 cigarettes per day for at least the past 6 months.

2. Smokers of primarily non-menthol cigarettes of brands other than Natural American Spirit.

3. Not currently undergoing smoking cessation treatment or trying to quit.

4. Able to communicate fluently in English (speaking, writing, and reading).

5. Capable of giving written informed consent, which includes compliance with the requirements and restrictions listed in the combined consent and HIPAA form.

Exclusion Criteria

• Subjects who self-report and/or present with the following criteria will not be eligible to participate in the study:

Smoking Behavior

1. Use of menthol or Natural American Spirit cigarettes as preferred/regular brand (defined as using >20% of the time).

2. Enrollment or plans to enroll in a smoking cessation program in the next month.

3. Provide an initial Carbon Monoxide (CO) reading < 5 parts per million (ppm).

Alcohol/Drugs

1. History of substance abuse (other than nicotine) in the past 12 months and/or currently receiving medical treatment for substance abuse.

2. Current alcohol consumption that exceeds 25 standard drinks/week.

Medical

1. Women who are pregnant, planning a pregnancy, and/or lactating.

2. Any impairment including, but not limited to, visual, physical, and/or neurological impairments preventing the completion of procedures included within this protocol. Notable impairments will be evaluated by the PI and eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

3. Color blindness.

4. Serious or unstable disease within the past 12 months (e.g. heart disease, cancer). Applicable conditions will be evaluated by the Principal Investigator and eligibility will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Psychiatric

As determined by self-report:

1. Lifetime history or current diagnosis of psychosis, bipolar disorder, and/or schizophrenia.

2. Current diagnosis of major depression. Subjects with a history of major depression, in remission for 6 months or longer, are considered eligible.

Other

Additionally, participants may be deemed ineligible for any of the following general reasons at any point throughout the study, as well as during the initial telephone screen, at the discretion of the PI:

• Significant non-compliance with protocol and/or study design.
• Past, current, anticipated, or pending enrollment in another research program over the study period that could potentially impact study data.
• Any medical condition, illness, disorder, adverse event (AE), or concomitant medication that could compromise participant safety or significantly impact study performance.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 21 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Melissa Mercincavage, PhD

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Melissa Mercincavage, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Locations

Institute for Nicotine and Tobacco Studies

New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Matthew Joy, MPH

Role: CONTACT

maj206@ints.rutgers.edu

848-267-8284

Other Identifiers

R37CA296976

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

Pro2025000854

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id