Author Guidelines

Nicotine & Tobacco Research is the official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. The articles published in the journal focus primarily on the neurobiology, psychology, epidemiology of nicotine and tobacco use, clinical aspects of the subject particularly with regard to interventions in tobacco cessation, and issues concerned with tobacco policy and public health related to nicotine and tobacco use and dependence. 

All material to be considered for publication in Nicotine & Tobacco Research should be submitted in electronic form via ScholarOne Manuscripts, the journal's online submission site. If you experience any problems during the online submission process please consult the Author's User Guide, which provides detailed submission instructions on how to submit your manuscript. Alternatively, please contact the journal's Managing Editor, who will be pleased to assist you.

Our readership is broad and international, and we therefore ask that submissions are prepared with this in mind. For example, concepts and abbreviations should be described fully so that an international reader can understand them, even if they are commonplace within a particular country or region.

We are committed to reducing health inequities associated with commercial tobacco products and, in particular, where discriminatory practices have contributed to higher smoking rates among ethnic and racial groups. We therefore welcome submissions that focus on these issues.

We do not allow tobacco industry (TI) employees to submit work to the journal in any format, and do not allow submissions funded by the TI. We also do not allow TI employees to review manuscripts submitted to the journal. We consider e-cigarette companies that are wholly or partially owned by the TI, including shared intellectual property, to be part of the TI.

Types of Submissions

The journal publishes five categories of manuscripts:

1. Original Investigation

An empirical report of data collected and analyzed. This type of manuscript will normally report a substantial piece of original work.

Sections for main manuscript document: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments, References.

This submission will normally not exceed 4,000 words of text with a 250-word abstract and no more than 4 figures and tables combined. The number of references should not exceed 50. The abstract should be structured as follows: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. If authors wish to submit articles that exceed these limits significantly, they should contact the Editor-in-Chief before submission. If the request has been approved please indicate this in the cover letter. The 4,000-word limit does not include the title page, abstract, or references.

2. Registered Reports

Registered Reports are a form of research article similar to an Original Investigation but where the methods and proposed analyses are pre-registered and reviewed prior to research being conducted. This format of article seeks to address a variety of inappropriate research practices, including inadequate statistical power, selective reporting of results, and publication bias. More details are available in our Registered Reports guidelines.

3. Review

Scholarly (and preferably systematic) review of literature, identifying trends or gaps in literature, providing new synthesis, and outlining future directions.

This submission will normally not exceed 6,000 words of text with a 250-word abstract and no more than 4 figures and tables combined; tables longer than 1 page will be published as supplementary material. The number of references should not exceed 100. If authors wish to submit articles that exceed these limits significantly, they should contact the Editor-in-Chief before submission. If the request has been approved, please indicate this in the cover letter. Authors considering submitting this type of article to the journal might find it useful to contact the Editor-in-Chief before embarking on the preparation the review for advice on whether or not the proposed review discusses an issue or issues which the Editorial Board are likely to consider to be of general interest to the readership of the journal.

4. Brief Report

An empirical report of preliminary or pilot data.

Sections for main manuscript document: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments, References.

This submission must not exceed 2,000 words of text with a 250-word abstract and no more than 2 figures and tables combined; tables longer than one page will be published as supplementary material. The abstract should be structured as follows: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. The number of references should not exceed 20.

5. Commentary

Extended discussion of a published article or editorial comment about relevant topic; most are invited; inquire about topic before submitting.

Commentaries should be no more than 1,500 words with no more than 1 figure or table, and the number of references should not exceed 20.

6. Letter to the Editor

Brief discussion of a published article or editorial comment about relevant topic; may be data-based. Authors of critiqued articles will be invited to provide a response.

Letters should be no more than 1,000 words, figures/tables should not be included, and the number of references should not exceed 10.

How to Format Your Manuscript

Manuscripts must include the sections listed below in the order they are presented. All word limits include citations within the text. The entire text should be double-spaced. Submitting an incomplete manuscript will cause a delay in review. The journal conforms to the AMA Manual of Style, 11th Edition. For publication, manuscripts must conform to the journal’s style. Do not incorporate any footer or headers in your submission. Turn off Track Changes. Do not include line numbers. Do not include footnotes.

We encourage authors to refer to EQUATOR Network guidelines for the reporting of different study types, and to follow these guidelines where appropriate.

Manuscript Structure

1. Title page. This should list the title of the article and the full names and institutional addresses for all authors. Each author's highest academic degree should follow his/her name. The e-mail address and telephone number of the corresponding author should also be included.

Nicotine & Tobacco Research requires corresponding authors to provide an ORCID iD with submission of a manuscript to the journal. More information on ORCID and the benefits of using an ORCID iD is available. If you do not already have an ORCID iD, you can register for free via the ORCID website.

2. Abstract. For original investigations and brief reports, the abstract is limited to 250 words and should be structured as follows: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. Please ensure that the conclusion of your abstract captures the main message of your article in an accurate, clear, concise, stand-alone statement. Abstracts for reviews are also limited to 250 words but the sub-headings may differ. Commentaries and letters do not require abstracts.

3. Implications. Provide a brief description about what the study adds (50-100 words).

4. Main Text. Use the guidelines in the Types of Articles table to structure the sections. Original Investigations and Brief Report sections are: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Use a maximum of three level headings. For example:

• Heading 1: Uppercase, large font, bold
• Heading 2: Lower case, standard size font, bold 
• Heading 3: Lower case, standard size font, italicized

5. Funding. List all sources of funding for the research. See Funding for further details.

6. Declaration of Interests. All authors must declare any conflicts of interest. When submitting your manuscript via ScholarOne Manuscripts, you will be asked whether you have any conflicts of interest. As submitting author, it is your responsibility to ascertain any conflicts of interest from your co-authors and to declare these accordingly. See Competing Interests for further details.

7. Data Availability. Include a 'Data availability statement' (including a repository link and persistent identifier, such as a DOI), or a code availability statement (in the case of secondary data analysis), or provide a justification for why data sharing is not possible (e.g., legal or ethical considerations). Authors are encouraged to share the data underlying their study. For more information, see OUP's Research Data Policy and TOP Guidelines. 

8. Acknowledgments. This section is for acknowledging individuals and institutions whose assistance and support the authors wish to mention.

9. References. The journal uses American Medical Association (AMA) style as laid out in the AMA Manual of Style (11th edition). References should be cited with numbers and then listed in numerical order at the end of the manuscript.

• The journal titles should be abbreviated. 
• For references with more than six authors, provide the names of the first three authors and then add et al. 
• Include the doi numbers for content published online ahead, when full issue pagination is not yet available.

Data set citation example: Campbell A, Kahn RL. American National Election Study, 1948. ICPSR07218-v3. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1999. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR07218.v3

9. Tables. Tables longer or wider than one published page will be included as Supplementary Material accessed through the journal archive, but not published in the journal’s PDF versions. Include tables at the end of the main manuscript, created in Word, using the table function. Follow these rules:

• Do not create a table using only tabs or spaces to create columns. 
• Do not create a table in Excel and embed it in a Word document. If you export a table from Excel, import it into the Tables function and format it for Word. 
• Do not use features such as Word Art in tables. 
• Mention the tables in the main text, but do not note in the manuscript where tables and figures should be inserted. 
• Tables should not duplicate material contained in the main text. 
• Number the tables consecutively, as they should appear in the text.
• Note: Do not note in the manuscript where tables and figures should be inserted, but refer to them as they relate to the text (for example: “Table 1 lists the subject characteristics…” or “Group differences are depicted in Figure 2…”).

Note: For all experiments/analyses where appropriate (e.g., human laboratory studies, clinical trials, etc.), add a statement to the manuscript in the methods section confirming whether or not you have reported all measures, conditions, and data exclusions, as well as how sample sizes were determined. Provide detailed explanations, as needed. For more information, refer to the N&TR editorial on statistical reporting.

Materials and Methods

Where applicable, materials and methods should be described and referenced in sufficient detail for other investigators to repeat the work. Authors are encouraged to include Research Resource Identifiers (RRIDs) for unique research materials (see https://scicrunch.org/resources). If no RRID already exists for the resource, authors are asked to register their resource to obtain an RRID. Please see the following examples of properly cited research resources:

• Antibody: Boehringer Cat# 1697 838, RRID:AB_2178887
• Organism: Fgf9Eks/Fgf9+ mouse, RRID:MGI:3840442
• Cell Line: Coriell Cat# GM03745, RRID:CVCL_1H60If y
• Tool: CellProfiler Image Analysis Software, RRID:nif-0000-00280

The journal encourages all authors, where ethically possible, to publicly release all data underlying any published paper. Authors must include a Data Availability Statement in their published article.

Submitting Figures and Supplementary Materials

The instructions for preparing figures are available at our Author Resources webpages. Figures can be color or black/white. The following guidelines for figures are essential:

• File formats. The journal prefers that figures be created in Excel. If you create figures in a program such as SigmaPlot or CorelDraw, you must export the file as .TIF. Do not embed a figure file as a picture into Excel or Word. The typesetters can work with figures in the following formats:
  • .TIF (Tagged Image Format File)
  • .DOC (Microsoft Word document)
  • .XLS (Microsoft Excel)
  • .PPT (Microsoft PowerPoint)
  • .PDF (Portable document format, Adobe)
  • .AI (Adobe Illustrator)
  • .WMF (Windows metafile)
  • .PNG (Portable Network Graphics)
• Figure size. Size the figure to the column or page width of the journal, and set the resolution at 300 dpi or greater.
• Follow the instructions. Figures must conform to the journal’s guidelines before a manuscript can be accepted and sent to production. Submitting figures in a nonpreferred format will delay or prevent publication.
• Order. Number all figures consecutively, as they should appear in the text.

Figure accessibility and alt text

Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work.  

Alt-text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, photographs, and it isn’t required for tables and large datasets (unless the tables are provided as figures). 

Alt-text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article. 

Detailed guidance on how to draft and submit alt text. 

Supplementary Material

Unpublished material such as tables and figures that relate to the manuscript but are too lengthy to be included in the manuscript can be submitted online as Supplementary Material. These should be in a final, viewable format such as PDF, with any track-changes hidden. You will be able to upload this material when you submit your manuscript. Do not include material that has been published previously or is otherwise under copyright restriction.

How to Upload Your Manuscript

You will need to do the following when you submit your manuscript:

1. Contact Information. Provide contact information for all authors.
2. Author Keywords. If you are not in the online system’s database, you may need to provide keywords describing your areas of expertise. Use the pull-down list or enter your own terms.
3. Corresponding Author. Identify a corresponding author. You also can identify an alternate.
4. Type of Submission. Identify the type of manuscript you are submitting (see General Guide for descriptions and allowed size), along with the numbers of words, figures, and tables.
5. Topic Keywords. Identify keywords that apply to your manuscript. Use the pull-down list or enter your own terms.
6. Verification . Verify that the manuscript is the author's own work and is not under review, in press, or published elsewhere. Also verify that the manuscript meets ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements of the study country is performed. The journal considers plagiarism including self plagiarism a serious offense and the editors reserve the right to withdraw manuscripts where there is evidence of plagiarism and to take appropriate action against the authors. Authors are directed to Chapter 5, section 4 (5.4), of the AMA Manual of Style for the definition of plagiarism that will be applied.
7. Authorship. Verify that all authors qualify for authorship under the guidelines of the AMA Manual of Style, 11th Edition. This involves making a primary contribution and holding primary responsibility for the data, concepts, and interpretation of results. Authorship should include those who have made substantial scientific contributions to the study.
8. CRediT Taxonomy. The Journal uses the contributor roles taxonomy (CRediT), which allows authors to describe the contributor roles in a standardized, transparent, and accurate way. Authors should choose from the contributor roles outlined on the CRediT website and supply this information upon submission. You may choose multiple contributor roles per author. Any other individuals who do not meet authorship criteria and made less substantive contributions should be listed in your manuscript as non-author contributors with their contributions clearly described. 
9. Competing Interests. Declare any competing interests for each author. For questions about what constitutes a competing interest, refer to our Policy on Competing Interests.
10. Protocol Registration. If the manuscript reports the results of a clinical trial, authors must indicate whether or not the study has been preregistered. If the trial has been preregistered, authors must report relevant information (e.g. trial number and preregistration authority/organization) in the manuscript. We encourage pre-registration for all study designs where this is appropriate (see TOP Guidelines).
11. Copyright Permission. Identify any figures or other portions of the manuscript for which copyright permission is required. Authors are responsible for securing permission. For more information, please visit Oxford Journals Rights & Permissions.
12. Supplementary Material. Upload any Supplementary Material linked to the manuscript.
13. Themed or Special Issue. Identify any supplement or dedicated issue for which the manuscript is being submitted.
14. Upload files . Upload separate manuscript files for the Main Document and the Figures (note that you can upload them in any order and reorder them using a pull-down menu; be sure to save the revised order).
    Before uploading, turn off Track Changes and accept all changes as a “Final” version (not “Final Showing Markup”). Do not select “Show Comments.” Articles with tracked changes and inserted comments will not be considered for publication until the authors remove those features.
    Your manuscript should be in any version of Microsoft Word for Windows or Macintosh, or WordPerfect for Windows.
    Your manuscript cannot be considered for publication until the figures are submitted in a viewable format.
    When you upload figures, you can add descriptive tags and comments.
15. Check PDF . Once the files are uploaded, click on the PDF link below them, to view the PDF. You must check the PDF at this stage or later in the submission process.

The Peer Review Process

After initial screening by an editor, all manuscripts submitted to the journal are rigorously peer reviewed. The journal operates single-anonymised peer review, meaning that the Authors’ identity is known to the Editor and to the Reviewers, but that the Reviewers’ identities are known only to the Editor and are hidden from the Authors. However, we offer our reviewers the option to sign their reviews if they wish, in which case their name is disclosed to the study authors in the decision letter. For full details about the peer review process, see Fair editing and peer review.

Self-Archiving Policy

For information about this journal's policy, please visit our Author Self-Archiving policy page.

License to Publish Form

Upon receipt of accepted manuscripts at Oxford Journals authors will be invited to complete an online copyright license to publish form. The journal encourages authors to complete their copyright license to publish form online.

Please note that by submitting an article for publication you confirm that you are the corresponding/submitting author and that Oxford University Press ("OUP") may retain your email address for the purpose of communicating with you about the article. You agree to notify OUP immediately if your details change. If your article is accepted for publication OUP will contact you using the email address you have used in the registration process. Please note that OUP does not retain copies of rejected articles.

Open Access

Nicotine & Tobacco Research offers the option of publishing under either a standard licence or an open access licence. Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please do clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution.

Should you wish to publish your article open access, you should select your choice of open access licence in our online system after your article has been accepted for publication. You will need to pay an open access charge to publish under an open access licence.

Details of the open access licences and open access charges.

OUP has a growing number of Read and Publish agreements with institutions and consortia which provide funding for open access publishing. This means authors from participating institutions can publish open access, and the institution may pay the charge. Find out if your institution is participating.

RCUK/Wellcome Trust funded authors publishing in Nicotine & Tobacco Research can use the Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY) for their articles.

Charges Information

The applicable open access charges vary according to which Creative Commons licence you select. The open access charges are as follows.

Charges for CC BY:

• Regular charge: $4,941 

Charges for CC BY-NC-ND:

• Regular charge: $4,941 

Funding

The following rules should be followed when reporting funding:

1. The sentence should begin: ‘This work was supported by …’
2. The full official funding agency name should be given, i.e. ‘the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health’ or simply 'National Institutes of Health', not ‘NCI' (one of the 27 sub-institutions) or 'NCI at NIH' (full RIN-approved list of UK funding agencies) .
3. Grant numbers should be complete and accurate and provided in parentheses as follows: ‘(grant number xxxx)’
4. Multiple grant numbers should be separated by a comma as follows: ‘(grant numbers xxxx, yyyy)’
5. Agencies should be separated by a semi-colon (plus ‘and’ before the last funding agency)
6. Where individuals need to be specified for certain sources of funding the following text should be added after the relevant agency or grant number 'to [author initials]'.

An example is given here: ‘This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (P50 CA098252 and CA118790 to R.B.S.R.) and the Alcohol & Education Research Council (HFY GR667789).’

Oxford Journals will deposit all NIH-funded articles in PubMed Central. Authors must ensure that manuscripts are clearly indicated as NIH-funded using the guidelines above.

CrossRef Funding Data Registry

In order to meet your funding requirements authors are required to name their funding sources, or state if there are none, during the submission process. For further information on this process or to find out more about CHORUS, visit the CHORUS initiative.

Journal Policies on Ethics

Publication Ethics

The journal adheres to the COPE guidelines in all matters relating to publication ethics.

Animal and Human Experimentation

All manuscripts reporting data obtained from animals or humans must have passed formal review and been given approval (or deemed exempt) by an appropriate institutional review board (IRB) or research ethics committee (REC), prior to conducting the research. This should be explicitly described in the Methods section of the manuscript. We may request documentation relating to the review process and approval from authors.

Studies with human participants should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki (1964, amended most recently in 2013), which were developed by the World Medical Association. For non-interventional studies, where ethics approval is not required or where a study has been granted an exemption by an ethics committee, this should be stated within the manuscript with a full explanation. Otherwise, manuscripts must include a statement in the Methods section that the research was performed after approval by a local ethics committee, institutional review board and/or local licensing committee, or that such approval was not required. The name of the authorizing body and any reference/permit numbers (where available) should also be stated there. Article 35 of the Declaration of Helsinki states that: “Every research study involving human subjects must be registered in a publicly accessible database before recruitment of the first subject”.

Animal experiments should comply with ARRIVE guidelines, and other appropriate guidelines, such as relevant EU Directives relating to animal experiments, and/or the National Institutes of Health guide for the care and use of laboratory animals.

Language Editing

Language editing, if your first language is not English, to ensure that the academic content of your manuscript is fully understood by journal editors and reviewers is optional. Language editing does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted for publication. See the Language Editing webpage. Several specialist language editing companies offer similar services and you can also use any of these. Authors are liable for all costs associated with such services.