Animal Models to Investigate the Impact of Flavors on Nicotine Addiction and Dependence

Background: Tobacco use in humans is a long-standing public health concern. Flavors are common additives in tobacco and alternative tobacco products, added to mask nicotine’s harsh orosensory effects and increase the appeal of these products. Animal models are integral for investigating nicotine use and addiction and are helpful for understanding the effects of flavor additives on the use of nicotine delivery products. Objective: This review focuses on preclinical models to evaluate the contribution of flavor additives to nicotine addiction. Materials and Methods: An electronic literature search was conducted by authors up to May 2022. Original articles were selected. Results: The behavioral models of rodents described here capture multiple dimensions of human flavored nicotine use behaviors, including advantages and disadvantages. Conclusion: The consensus of the literature search was that human research on nicotine use behavior has not caught up with fast-changing product innovations, marketing practices, and federal regulations. Animal models are therefore needed to investigate mechanisms underlying nicotine use and addiction. This review provides a comprehensive overview of animal models that can be used to investigate the effects of flavors on nicotine use behaviors.