The Effect of Smoking Availability on Urge, Mood, and Reaction Time

Classical conditioning is one mechanism responsible for the maintenance of smoking behavior. In addition to environmental, sensorimotor, or emotional cues, certain cognitions (e.g. when a person believes they can smoke next) may also influence reactivity to smoking related cues and overall smoking motivation. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the linearity,or curvilinearity, of the relationship between smoking availability and self-reported urge, self-reported mood, and reaction time. After collecting baseline measurements, 85 (59 male, 26 female) non-treatment seeking, regular, heavy (M=15 cigarettes/day) smokers were randomly assigned one of three conditions: smoke in 20 minutes, smoke in 3 hours, and smoke in 24 hours. Planned comparisons revealed that the 24 hour condition had the greatest decrease in positive mood compared to the other conditions. The linearity of this relationship is discussed. The analyses also indicated that the 24 hour group had significantly greater reaction time than the 3 hour condition, with a trending curvilinear relationship. Treatment implications of smoking availability as an important cognitive factor in drug-use behavior are discussed.