Raymond S Niaura

Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Professional overview

Dr. Raymond Niaura is a psychologist and an expert on tobacco dependence and treatment, as well as substance use and addiction to alcohol. Dr. Niaura researches the biobehavioral substrates of tobacco dependence, including factors that influence adolescent and early adult tobacco use trajectories. He also evaluates behavioral and pharmacological treatments for tobacco cessation, with a particular interest in cessation in disadvantaged population to address public health disparities in tobacco-related burdens of illness and disability.

For eight year, Dr. Niaura was the Director of Science and Training at the Schroeder Institute (SI) for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies at the Truth Initiative, where he also supervised the pre- and post-doctoral training programs. Dr. Niaura has previously taught and conducted research at Brown University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Georgetown Medical Center, and the School of Public Health at University of Maryland. He was also a former President of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco and is  a Deputy Editor of the Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

With grants from the National Institutes of Health, numerous foundations, and private industry, Dr. Niaura has published over 400 peer-reviewed articles, commentaries, and book chapters, including the book The Tobacco Dependence Treatment Handbook: A Guide to Best Practices.

Education

BA, Psychology (First Class Honors), McGill University, Montreal, Canada

MS, Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

PhD, Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

Honors and awards

Research Laureate, American Academy of Health Behavior (2009)

University Scholar Award, McGill University (1979)

Areas of research and study

Alcohol, Tobacco and Driving Policies

Evaluations

Health Disparities

Substance Abuse

Tobacco Control

Publications

Publications

Influence of a dopamine pathway additive genetic efficacy score on smoking cessation: Results from two randomized clinical trials of bupropion

Nicotine

Nondisclosure of Smoking Status to Health Care Providers Among Current and Former Smokers in the United States

Past major depression and smoking cessation outcome: A systematic review and meta-analysis update

Pharmacogenetic smoking cessation intervention in a health care setting: A pilot feasibility study

Prenatal tobacco exposure, biomarkers for tobacco in meconium, and neonatal growth outcomes

Public support for mandated nicotine reduction in cigarettes

The social support and social network characteristics of smokers in Methadone Maintenance treatment

A ban on menthol cigarettes: Impact on public opinion and smokers' intention to quit

A transdisciplinary approach to protocol development for tobacco control research: A case study

Are smokers with HIV using information and communication technology? implications for behavioral interventions

Behavioral economic analysis of withdrawal- and cue-elicited craving for tobacco: An initial investigation

Development and reliability of the lifetime interview on smoking trajectories

Dopamine D4 receptor gene variation moderates the efficacy of bupropion for smoking cessation

E-cigarette awareness, use, and harm perceptions in US adults

Interventions to address chronic disease and HIV: Strategies to promote smoking cessation among HIV-infected individuals

A national mass media smoking cessation campaign: Effects by race/ethnicity and education

A randomized trial of internet and telephone treatment for smoking cessation

Accuracy of a brief screening scale for lifetime major depression in cigarette smokers

Application of functional neuroimaging to examination of nicotine dependence

Characteristics and predictors of readiness to quit among emergency medical patients presenting with respiratory symptoms

Food and drug administration regulation of tobacco: Integrating science, law, policy, and advocacy

Villanti, A. C., Vargyas, E. J., Niaura, R. S., Beck, S. E., Pearson, J. L., & Abrams, D. B. (n.d.).

Publication year

2011

Journal title

American journal of public health

Volume

101

Issue

7

Page(s)

1160-1162

10.2105/AJPH.2011.300229

Modeling the future effects of a menthol ban on smoking prevalence and smoking-attributable deaths in the United States

Online social networks and smoking cessation: A scientific research agenda

Positive reactions to tobacco predict relapse after cessation

Strong, D. R., Leventhal, A. M., Evatt, D. P., Haber, S., Greenberg, B. D., Abrams, D., & Niaura, R. (n.d.).

Publication year

2011

Journal title

Journal of abnormal psychology

Volume

120

Issue

4

Page(s)

999-1005

10.1037/a0023666

Abstract

Abstract

Among chronic smokers, individual differences in subjective reactions to smoking may characterize important facets of nicotine dependence that relate to abstinence-induced craving, withdrawal symptom profiles, and risk for relapse. Although the negative reinforcing properties of smoking have achieved prominent positions in models of relapse (Baker, Brandon, & Chassin, 2004), vulnerability to relapse risk may also arise from seeking positive reinforcement from smoking (Shiffman & Kirchner, 2009). In this study, 183 cessation-motivated smokers provided subjective craving, positive and negative reactions to standardized cigarettes following overnight abstinence. Level of craving, negative mood, and positive mood after overnight abstinence were significantly predictive of withdrawal on quit-day. Increased positive reactions to smoking were uniquely predictive of relapse after quitting (Hazard Ratio = 1.22, p < .001). Individual differences in positive reactions to smoking may be important markers of neurobiological systems that promote dependence and interfere with cessation efforts.