--- title: Does the menstrual cycle phase affect how women respond to nicotine? description: Yes. Women in the luteal phase showed reduced sensitivity to nicotine's effects and performed better on thinking tasks compared to women in the follicular pha url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/subjective-physiological-and-cognitive-responses-to-intravenous-nicotine-effects-2014/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does the menstrual cycle phase affect how women respond to nicotine? Study, 2014 # Does the menstrual cycle phase affect how women respond to nicotine? Yes. Women in the luteal phase showed reduced sensitivity to nicotine's effects and performed better on thinking tasks compared to women in the follicular phase, suggesting the luteal phase may reduce nicotine's rewarding effects. Moderate study design 115 men and 45 women aged 18-50 years ## What they did Researchers gave intravenous nicotine to 115 men and 45 women aged 18-50 years. They tested 29 women in the follicular phase and 16 women in the luteal phase. They measured how the drug felt subjectively, thinking ability, physical responses, and withdrawal and craving symptoms. Menstrual cycle phase was confirmed through saliva testing. ## What they found Women overall had less intense subjective effects from nicotine but stronger physical responses than men. Women in the luteal phase reported weaker drug effects and performed better on thinking tasks compared to women in the follicular phase. ## What it means for you The luteal phase, when progesterone is high relative to estrogen, may reduce the rewarding effects of nicotine and protect against addiction. However, this was a single dose study in a laboratory, not real-world smoking behavior. 115 men studied 45 women studied 29 women in follicular phase ## About the study Original title Subjective, physiological, and cognitive responses to intravenous nicotine: effects of sex and menstrual cycle phase Authors DeVito EE, Herman AI, Waters AJ et al. Journal Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Year 2014 Study design Study What was tested Intravenous nicotine administration Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1038/npp.2013.339](https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2013.339) ## Topics [Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Alcohol, smoking and substance use](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-substance-use/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Randomised trial, 2025 Does the menstrual cycle phase affect how much alcohol impairs women's memory? Systematic review, 2019 Do women take more health-related risks at certain times in their menstrual cycle? Randomised trial, 2014 Does alcohol change brain activity during the menstrual cycle? Survey study, 2011 Do smoking habits affect premenstrual and menstrual symptoms? Survey study, 2013 Does smoking behavior change across the menstrual cycle and is it linked to mood and period symptoms? Randomised trial, 2012 Does alcohol affect brain activity and thinking differently at different times in the menstrual cycle? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗