About

Suzanne M. Colby is an Associate Director of Applied Learning for the MPH Program and a Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University, with a joint appointment in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Alpert Medical School. She is also the Deputy Director of the Center for Alcohol & Addiction Studies (CAAS). Her research expertise is nationally recognized in adolescent tobacco use, focusing on enhancing methodological approaches for conducting tobacco research among young people, developing effective cessation interventions, and evaluating their impact. Dr. Colby has held leadership roles including President of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT), and has served as SRNT Member Delegate for North America, Annual Meeting Program Chair, and Founding Chair of the Adolescent Research Network. She is involved in training and mentoring, serving on the Mentoring Steering Committee and as a Mentor Training Facilitator for the Advance RI Clinical Trials Research, a statewide translational research hub. Her professional affiliations include Fellowships with the Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco and the American Psychological Association's divisions on Addiction Psychology and Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse. Her research areas encompass addictive behaviors, alcohol, nicotine, smoking, tobacco, and treatment, with numerous publications contributing to the field.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Medicine
• Clinical psychology
• Psychiatry
• Environmental health

Selected publications

• The Impact of Nicotine Reduction on Cigarette Reinforcement Value Within a Marketplace Containing Alternative Nicotine Delivery Products: A Secondary Analysis of a Multi-Site Trial

  Nicotine & Tobacco Research · 2025-07-04

  articleOpen access

  INTRODUCTION: A mandated reduction in the nicotine content of cigarettes would likely improve public health. Prior research has shown that assignment to very low nicotine content (VLNC) cigarettes reduces the reinforcement value of cigarettes. However, no studies have evaluated changes in reinforcement for smoking after experience with VLNC cigarettes in a marketplace where noncombusted nicotine products are available. AIMS AND METHODS: Adult participants who smoke cigarettes (n = 438) were randomized 1:1 to VLNC or normal nicotine content cigarettes for 12 weeks. Participants purchased products using points valued at $1 from an experimental tobacco marketplace that contained study cigarettes and noncombusted nicotine products. At the 12-week visit, participants completed hypothetical purchase tasks for each product. Demand parameters were calculated, including intensity (consumption when product is free), breakpoint (price when consumption is reduced to zero), Pmax (price that produces maximum daily spending), Omax (maximum amount spent in a single day), and α (rate of change in consumption across the demand curve). RESULTS: Assignment to VLNC cigarettes reduced demand for study cigarettes across all parameters, and reduced demand for usual brand cigarettes for intensity and breakpoint, but not other parameters. Assignment to VLNC cigarettes increased Omax for e-cigarettes, but not other demand parameters. There were no significant differences in demand parameters for other products. CONCLUSIONS: A mandated reduction in cigarette nicotine content is likely to reduce the reinforcement value of cigarettes in a marketplace where noncombusted products are available, which may drive reductions in the prevalence of smoking and shift people who smoke toward noncombusted products. IMPLICATIONS: This is the first study to show that assignment to VLNC cigarettes along with access to noncombusted nicotine products reduces reinforcement value for both low nicotine and normal nicotine cigarettes, and may increase the reinforcement value of e-cigarettes. These results suggest that a mandated reduction in nicotine will decrease the prevalence of smoking and may increase the use of other noncombusted products.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A scoping review of Dry January: evidence and future directions

  Alcohol and Alcoholism · 2025-07-16 · 3 citations

  reviewOpen accessSenior author

  Dry January is a temporary alcohol abstinence challenge where participants commit to abstaining from drinking alcohol for one month. It has grown in popularity since its inception >10 years ago. The current scoping review sought to broadly characterize the peer-reviewed literature on Dry January, summarize its main findings, strengths and limitations, and delineate future research directions. In total, 90 publications were screened and 16 were reviewed. Findings revealed that compared to drinkers in the general population who did not participate, Dry January participants tended to report having higher incomes, completed university education, reported being female, younger, and engaging in heavy drinking at baseline. Those who consumed light to moderate amounts of alcohol were more likely to report successfully abstaining than heavier drinkers. Among successful abstainers, short- and mid-term sustained reductions in self-reported alcohol use and improved biological outcomes, well-being, and drink refusal self-efficacy were observed. Benefits were also reported among those who did not fully abstain. Most Dry January participants would participate in the program again. Overall, Dry January demonstrates significant promise and warrants more rigorous research. As nearly all extant research derives from the United Kingdom, future research should investigate applications and effects beyond that population.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Real-Time Exposure to Intersectional Minority Stressors and Alcohol Use: Protocol for an Ecological Momentary Assessment Study With Latinx and Non-Latinx Sexual Minority Youth

  JMIR Research Protocols · 2025-12-09

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Sexual minority youth (SMY) are significantly more likely to use alcohol compared with their heterosexual peers. Recent national data also suggest a turning point in alcohol use disparities: Latinx youth now report higher alcohol use than non-Latinx youth. Despite this, little is known about the social context and reasons why Latinx SMY may engage in alcohol use. OBJECTIVE: This manuscript describes the protocol for a study designed to assess real-time exposure to minority stressors and protective factors, and their relationship to alcohol use among Latinx and non-Latinx White SMY. METHODS: The project is being conducted in 3 phases with a combined sample of approximately 140 participants. Phase 1 (completed) involved cognitive interviews with 23 SMY participants, which refined and adapted survey measures to ensure cultural and developmental appropriateness for the next study phases. Phase 2 was a pilot ecological momentary assessment (EMA) survey with 20 participants to evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and compliance (completed). Phase 3 will recruit approximately 100 SMY aged 15-19 years, with equal representation of Latinx and non-Latinx White SMY. Participants will complete a baseline survey and repeated EMA surveys to capture daily experiences of stressors, protective factors, and alcohol use. RESULTS: Results for the study sample, recruitment (between April 2022 and November 2023), and challenges confronted are presented for Phase 1. Findings showed that the study sample included 23 Latinx and non-Latinx SMY, split almost in half by ethnicity. Participants were mostly female and affluent. Recruitment efforts showed that certain flyers and locations (eg, Facebook/Instagram) performed better at recruiting this sample. We present issues faced with screening out ineligible participants and bots, recruiting participants assigned male at birth, recruiting 15- to 17-year-old participants, and building overall trust with this population. Results from the rest of the data in this study will be analyzed and disseminated through peer-reviewed scientific journals. CONCLUSIONS: This study will provide novel data on the real-time contexts of alcohol use among SMY with particular attention to Latinx youth, an understudied and marginalized population. By identifying stress and protective mechanisms linked to alcohol use, findings can inform tailored prevention and intervention strategies. Furthermore<strong>,</strong> the protocol offers a replicable framework for future EMA research on intersectionality, minority stress, and alcohol use among diverse SMY populations. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/87201.

  PublisherDOI

• The Relationship between Cannabis Use and Demand for Cigarettes in Adolescents who Smoke Cigarettes

  Drug and Alcohol Dependence · 2025-11-08

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Tobacco Withdrawal and Cigarette Reinforcement as Mechanisms Underlying the Effects of Reduced Nicotine Content Cigarettes on Adolescent Smoking Behavior

  Drug and Alcohol Dependence · 2025-02-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Double Jeopardy: Does Intersectional Discrimination Moderate the Relationship Between Acculturation and Cigarette Dependence Among Latinx Sexual Minority Men Current Smokers?

  Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities · 2025-04-15 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Real-Time Exposure to Intersectional Minority Stressors and Alcohol Use: Protocol for an Ecological Momentary Assessment Study With Latinx and Non-Latinx Sexual Minority Youth (Preprint)

  2025-11-06

  preprintOpen access

  <sec> <title>BACKGROUND</title> Sexual minority youth (SMY) are significantly more likely to use alcohol compared with their heterosexual peers. Recent national data also suggest a turning point in alcohol use disparities: Latinx youth now report higher alcohol use than non-Latinx youth. Despite this, little is known about the social context and reasons why Latinx SMY may engage in alcohol use. </sec> <sec> <title>OBJECTIVE</title> This manuscript describes the protocol for a study designed to assess real-time exposure to minority stressors and protective factors, and their relationship to alcohol use among Latinx and non-Latinx White SMY. </sec> <sec> <title>METHODS</title> The project is being conducted in 3 phases with a combined sample of approximately 140 participants. Phase 1 (completed) involved cognitive interviews with 23 SMY participants, which refined and adapted survey measures to ensure cultural and developmental appropriateness for the next study phases. Phase 2 was a pilot ecological momentary assessment (EMA) survey with 20 participants to evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and compliance (completed). Phase 3 will recruit approximately 100 SMY aged 15-19 years, with equal representation of Latinx and non-Latinx White SMY. Participants will complete a baseline survey and repeated EMA surveys to capture daily experiences of stressors, protective factors, and alcohol use. </sec> <sec> <title>RESULTS</title> Results for the study sample, recruitment (between April 2022 and November 2023), and challenges confronted are presented for Phase 1. Findings showed that the study sample included 23 Latinx and non-Latinx SMY, split almost in half by ethnicity. Participants were mostly female and affluent. Recruitment efforts showed that certain flyers and locations (eg, Facebook/Instagram) performed better at recruiting this sample. We present issues faced with screening out ineligible participants and bots, recruiting participants assigned male at birth, recruiting 15- to 17-year-old participants, and building overall trust with this population. Results from the rest of the data in this study will be analyzed and disseminated through peer-reviewed scientific journals. </sec> <sec> <title>CONCLUSIONS</title> This study will provide novel data on the real-time contexts of alcohol use among SMY with particular attention to Latinx youth, an understudied and marginalized population. By identifying stress and protective mechanisms linked to alcohol use, findings can inform tailored prevention and intervention strategies. Furthermore&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;,&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt; the protocol offers a replicable framework for future EMA research on intersectionality, minority stress, and alcohol use among diverse SMY populations. </sec> <sec> <title>INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT</title> DERR1-10.2196/87201 </sec>

  PublisherDOI

• Introducing a special issue of rapid research on disposable e‐cigarettes

  Addiction · 2025-01-12

  editorialOpen access

  Much has been written about e-cigarettes since they first started to become popular early in the 2010s. A PubMed search returns over 10 000 articles including the terms ‘e-cigarettes’ or ‘vaping’. Research has established that e-cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes, effective for smoking cessation and were initially primarily used by people who had smoked cigarettes [1-4]. Since approximately 2021, new forms of disposable e-cigarettes rapidly became popular in many countries [5-12], including among never smokers, particularly adolescents and young adults [3-7]. These devices typically deliver nicotine more effectively than older types, are sold cheaply and are widely available (as opposed to only being sold in specialist vape shops). This rapid growth in the availability and use of disposable e-cigarettes in many countries raises important new research questions. In outlining our call for research on disposable e-cigarettes, we sought submissions that assessed the harms of, and addiction to, new disposable devices; sought to understand their appeal, marketing and harm perceptions; evaluated effectiveness for reducing cigarette cravings, supporting quit attempts and smoking cessation; described the epidemiology of use, including prevalence by key subgroups, the profile of users over time, and characteristics relating to use; estimated the extent to which use is displacing smoking or use of other e-cigarettes; modelled the impact at a population-level under varying assumptions and policy or regulation scenarios; or estimated the environmental impact of the products [13]. Since our call, the world has already moved on with many governments acting to address the rapid growth in uptake of disposable e-cigarettes, with new regulations specific to the new devices. For example, the United Kingdom (UK) has announced the sale of disposables e-cigarettes will be banned from June 2025 (under environmental legislation). From January 2024, the importation of disposable vapes was prohibited in Australia [14], with a number of other countries implementing or considering similar measures. Rapid research to inform regulatory approaches is urgently required. We received a number of high-quality submissions and are publishing 16 reports with three commentaries in this special issue, which we have grouped into the following themes: use and appeal of disposables in youth and young adults; the characteristics of disposables; and prevalence trends and harms. On the topic of youth and young adults, Hammond et al. [15] documented an increase in the use of disposables from around 2020 to 2023 across Canada, England and the United States (US) among 19 710 16 to 19 year-olds who had vaped in the past 30 days, using data from the invaluable international tobacco control (ITC) project collected between 2017 and 2023. The study made it clear that although all three countries reported similar shifts to disposable devices among youth who vaped, the increases appeared to be driven by different brands at different times in each country. East et al. [16] also used ITC data to examine use and reasons for use among 1355 16 to 29 year-olds in England in 2022. This study established the most popular brand was Elf Bar, being used by approximately half those who vaped in England, and mainly chosen for subjective responses such as the flavour/taste, rather than for quitting smoking. Azagba et al. [17] analysed the 2022 US National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) of 14 389 high school students in grades 9 to 12, and found that compared with non-use, use of disposables was more common among those who were female, older and/or identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual and those who smoked less frequently. Mattingly et al. [18] also used the NYTS, but focused only on the 4137 youth who vaped, and included both middle and high school students (9–18 years old) from 2021 and 2022. In this sample, older age, non-Hispanic Black race/ethnicity, nicotine vaping and flavoured e-cigarette use were associated with mainly using disposable e-cigarettes relative to other e-cigarette types. Chen-Sankey et al. [19] reported findings from a laboratory study that examined visual attention to 14 different marketing features of 32 social media posts for disposable e-cigarettes among 72 non-tobacco using and 42 cigarette smoking youth (18–29 years old). Viewing these post images, youth were particularly visually engaged by information about the social media account (e.g. account profile pictures, hashtags), product descriptions and by marketing features that enhanced the products' personal relatability. Positive perceptions of disposable e-cigarettes were associated with engagement with the product package features. Among youth who smoked, positive perceptions of disposables were associated with a fruit/candy descriptor and price promotion. In a convenience sample of 1313 young (15–24 years old) US users of disposable e-cigarettes, Donovan et al. [20] reported that approximately half threw their disposables into the regular trash/rubbish, at an average of around three devices per month, raising safety and environmental concerns. Notley et al. [21] qualitatively explored 29 young people's (16–20 years old) experiences and use of disposable vapes in the United Kingdom. The authors found disposable vapes were attractive, accessible and normalized in this population, despite being seen as potentially damaging to health. Further, the act of vaping and smoking were engaged in interchangeably. In this context, the authors raised the concern that strict regulation on e-cigarettes may risk the unintended consequence of prompting a switch from vaping to smoking. On the subject of the characteristics of disposables, Jackson et al. [22] reported on trends in nicotine strength used in e-liquids among a sample of 7314 vapers (≥18 years old) who completed the nationally representative Smoking Toolkit Study (STS) in England between 2016 and 2024. Use of high-strength (≥20 mg/mL) nicotine e-liquids in England increased sharply from approximately 4% in 2021 to approximately 33% in 2024. This coincided with when disposables became popular and the rise was most pronounced among those using disposable e-cigarettes, those 18 to 24 years and across all smoking statuses (including never smokers) except long-term (≥1 year) ex-smokers. Nottage et al. [23] performed a content analysis of the packaging of popular disposable vapes and e-liquid bottles in brick-and-mortar and on-line shops in England, Canada and the United States. They found popular disposable vapes and e-liquid bottles had varying compliance with local packaging regulations and inconsistent labelling of nicotine and product characteristics. In response to the use of colourful designs, evocative descriptors and appealing graphics to promote flavours, the authors called for improved packaging regulation and enforcement. Ma et al. [24] identified key characteristics of 2320 unique on-line disposable e-cigarettes and estimated associations with pricing and consumer preferences, scraped from the websites of five US on-line vape shops. Consumers appeared to prefer disposable e-cigarettes with lower capacity batteries, high nicotine concentrations, no synthetic nicotine and fruit/sweet flavours. Disposables with greater volume were also associated with lower standardized price. Leigh et al. [25] compared the differences in nicotine content and form, aerosol emissions and flavouring chemicals in a convenience sample of eight US and UK Elfbar disposable e-cigarettes with the same flavour labels. Likely reflecting different national regulatory requirements, the authors reported that people using Elfbar sold in the United States were estimated to receive a dose of nicotine delivered per puff four times higher from than for the UK Elfbar. Keller-Hamilton et al. [26] reported a human laboratory assessment of nicotine delivery, vaping topography and subjective effects of usual brand electronic cigarette use among 96 youth (18–25 years old) in the United States. Nearly half of participants used disposable e-cigarettes, and the e-cigarettes used delivered large quantities of nicotine (similar to cigarettes), significantly relieved withdrawal symptoms and were appealing. For the theme of prevalence trends and harms, East et al. [27] assessed an on-line convenience sample to examine the features and types of vaping products that 494 adults in the United Kingdom, who currently smoked and/or vaped at least monthly, believed could negatively impact their health. Higher nicotine concentrations, more e-liquid consumed and salt (vs. freebase) nicotine were most commonly perceived by participants to increase the health harms of vaping. Disposables were perceived as slightly more harmful than reusable devices. Jackson et al. [28] reported on the source of purchase among a sample of 6507 adult (≥18 years old) current vapers (daily or non-daily) collected by the STS in England between 2016 and 2023. They found that supermarkets and convenience stores superseded vape shops as the primary source of purchase of e-cigarettes from approximately 2021 onward. This change appeared to be driven by the rising popularity of disposable e-cigarettes among younger adults, who tended to buy disposables from supermarkets/convenience stores. Craft et al. [29] aimed to detect and quantify synthetic cannabinoids in seven illicitly sourced disposable vape samples that were sold as cannabis products in the United Kingdom and closely resembled legal, regulated nicotine-based disposable products. These products were obtained from a single individual presenting to a drug and alcohol service in the United Kingdom. The authors detected a synthetic cannabinoid (SC 5F-MDMB-PICA) in all seven vapes. Klosterhalfen et al. [30] reported on prevalence trends in the use of different types of e-cigarettes in people 14 years old and over in Germany, collected by the nationally representative DEBRA study between 2016 and 2023. The use of e-cigarettes increased over this time period, especially disposables. The timing of the observed shift was similar to that seen in the United Kingdom and United States, but started from a lower baseline, increasing from 0.1% to 0.8%. Users of disposable vapes were also younger than users of other types of e-cigarettes. However, the overall vaping prevalence in Germany (2.2% in 2023) remained much lower than the prevalence of tobacco smoking (~30%). In summary, this special issue pulls together a collection of cutting-edge research reports on key topics relating to the rapid growth in the use of disposable e-cigarettes. There remain important research gaps on comparative harms and addiction; comparative effectiveness for smoking cessation and long-term relapse prevention; and observed or modelled estimates on the extent to which use of disposable vapes is displacing smoking in different national and regulatory contexts. In those countries banning disposables, or planning to, a key future challenge will be how to define and regulate new products that circumvent such legislation [31] by becoming technically reusable whilst retaining other key product features and branding, and may still be treated as disposable in practice (i.e. ‘reusable disposables’). J.B. has received (most recently in 2018) unrestricted funding to study smoking cessation from J&J and Pfizer, who manufacture medically licensed smoking cessation treatments. S.M.C. has no competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence this editorial. NW reports grants from the Health Research Council (HRC) of New Zealand (NZ) and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council to undertake clinical trials on: 1) e-cigarettes for smoking cessation (e-cigarettes were purchased from e-cigarette retailers), 2) cytisine for smoking cessation (cytisine supplied at no cost by Achieve Life Sciences), and 3) NRT for smoking cessation (NRT supplied at no cost by the NZ Government via their contract with Novartis). NW is currently leading a HRC-funded vaping cessation trial where nicotine patches are supplied at no cost by the NZ Government via their contract with Haleon, and nicotine mouth spray is purchased from Kenvue).

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 3140P Genomic tumor board (GTB) implementation in a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing an educationally enhanced genomic tumor board (EGTB) intervention to usual practice (S2108CD, NCT# 05455606)

  Annals of Oncology · 2025-09-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Corrigendum to Reduced nicotine in cigarettes in a marketplace with alternative nicotine systems: randomized clinical trial

  The Lancet Regional Health - Americas · 2025-09-27

  erratumOpen access

  [This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.lana.2024.100796.].

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R01AA016000

  NIH · $1.1M · 2012

• NIH Grant R01CA080255

  NIH · $872k · 2003

• Addressing alcohol misuse in HIV prevention and care: The Brown University Alcohol Research Center on HIV (ARCH)

  NIH · $39.3M · 2010–2026

• NIH Grant R01DA016737

  NIH · $1.9M · 2009

• Evaluating New Nicotine Standards for Cigarettes

  NIH · $126.0M · 2011–2025

Frequent coauthors

• Peter M. Monti

  592 shared

• Damaris J. Rohsenow

  Brown University

  352 shared

• Nancy P. Barnett

  John Brown University

  299 shared

• Jennifer W. Tidey

  Brown University

  191 shared

• John E. Schulenberg

  145 shared

• Mary E. Larimer

  University of Washington

  145 shared

• Jennifer L. Maggs

  Pennsylvania State University

  145 shared

• Rebekka S. Palmer

  145 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Behavioral and Social Sciences

  Brown University

• M.S., Behavioral and Social Sciences

  Brown University

• B.A., Behavioral and Social Sciences

  Brown University

Awards & honors

• Fellow of the Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco
• Fellow of the American Psychological Association's Division…
• Fellow of the American Psychological Association's Division…