The smoking Stroop and delay discounting in smokers: effects of environmental smoking cues

We investigated the effects of exposure to environmental smoking-related cues (holding a lit cigarette in an environment previously associated with smoking) on cigarette craving, colour naming of smoking-related words in a modified Stroop task, and on the delay discounting of hypothetical rewards, in daily cigarette smokers (N = 30). Compared to exposure to neutral cues, exposure to smoking-related cues was associated with increased cigarette craving and slower colour naming of smoking-related compared to matched control words. However, smoking cues had no effect on delay discounting. These results suggest that smoking cues increase craving and the ability of smoking-related words to grab the attention, but do not influence impulsive decision-making. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.