PREDICTORS OF SMOKING LAPSE IN EARLY ABSTINENCE

Human laboratory models of smoking lapse behavior are time-, and cost-effective and offer a framework for the investigation of factors that are involved in smoking lapse. Understanding factors that make people vulnerable to experiencing lapse/relapse early on during a quit attempt will help to identify new treatment targets that can aid in the development of more effective cessation treatments. This study explored predictors of smoking lapse during the first 24 hours of a smoking abstinence attempt. Changes in mood, smoking urges, and withdrawal were also monitored. Eighty-one non-treatment seeking smokers completed a battery of self-report and cognitive measures before participating in a practice smoking quit attempt. It was found that lapse within the first 24 hours of instructed abstinence was predicted by two different measures of negative affect but not by cognitive measures. Smokers reported significantly lower vigor/activity and higher urges, anger, and negative affect after 24 hours of abstinence. The implications of these findings are discussed.