Smokers' reactions to interpersonal interaction and presentation of smoking cues

This study examined smokers' reactions to smoking cues and interpersonal interaction. Fifty-six smokers were assigned at random to the six cells of a factorial design which varied the level of interpersonal interaction (role play with a confederate vs. confederate absent) and the level of exposure to smoking cues (no cues vs. visual cues vs. visual plus olfactory cues). Measures of reactivity included changes from resting baseline on blood pressure, heart rate, self-reported smoking urge, and a measure of ad lib smoking behavior obtained after exposure to the experimental procedures. Results showed that blood pressure responses increased significantly from baseline only during the role play situation where the confederate manipulated an unlit cigarette or smoked a cigarette in view of the subjects. Although not significant, heart rate changes paralleled blood pressure changes, but urge ratings showed a different pattern of response to the manipulations. The latency to smoking a cigarette after the experimental manipulations was unaffected by the cues. The results suggest that modelling of smoking by others and exposure to some kinds of smoking cues may increase cardiovascular activation.