After 4 weeks of vapor exposure, post-vapor alcohol self-administration testing was conducted twice per week during acute withdrawal (2-4 h after cessation of daily vapor exposure) to confirm in alcohol dependent animals that alcohol self-administration increased compared with pre-vapor levels. Notably, excessive drinking in dependent animals results in a rapid elevation in blood alcohol levels exceeding 80 mg% (“binge drinking,” as defined by NIAAA) within 15 min and peaking around 100 - 150 mg% during the 30-min self-administration session, whereas nondependent drinking produces blood alcohol levels that rarely exceed 50 mg% (Richardson et al., 2008).
