The effects of smoking-related sensory cues on psychological stress

Previous studies have shown that the sensory cues of cigarette smoking are important for smoking satisfaction and craving reduction. Sensory cues in the absence of pharmacological doses of nicotine have been found to be moderately satisfying and to reduce craving. The current study was conducted to determine if administration of the sensory cues of cigarette smoking with minimal nicotine would also provide relief from mild anxiety associated with anticipation of a difficult anagram test. This test has previously been shown to be sensitive to the anxiety relieving effects of cigarette smoking. Compared to the placebo control condition, the sensory condition caused a significant alleviation of the stress as measured by components of the Spielberger scale for anxiety. The addition of cigarette smoke containing 0.5 mg of nicotine to the sensory cues caused a slight though nonsignificant enhancement of the stress alleviation. These results demonstrate that sensory cues of smoking can provide similar effects as nicotine containing cigarettes with regard to stress alleviation. Previous studies had shown that sensory cues are important for the consumptive aspects of smoking (i.e., smoking satisfaction and craving reduction). The current study shows that sensory cues are important for other effects of smoking as well.