Cue reactivity in converted and native intermittent smokers.

Area of Science:

• Addiction research
• Behavioral psychology
• Tobacco control

Background:

• Nondaily smokers (intermittent smokers, ITS) are a significant population of U.S. smokers.
• ITS are believed to smoke primarily in response to environmental or internal cues.
• Previous research found no difference in cue reactivity between ITS and daily smokers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in cue-induced craving and smoking behavior between converted intermittent smokers (CITS) and native intermittent smokers (NITS).
• To determine if CITS, with a history of daily smoking, respond differently to cues compared to NITS, who have never smoked daily.

Main Methods:

• 146 CITS and 73 NITS participated in cue reactivity assessments.
• Participants were exposed to various cues (smoking, alcohol, affect, prohibitions) and a neutral cue in separate sessions.
• Craving changes and smoking behaviors (smoking likelihood, latency, quantity, CO boost) were measured.

Main Results:

• CITS reported higher craving and greater craving changes across all cues.
• CITS were more likely to smoke, initiated smoking faster, and showed higher carbon monoxide increases.
• Despite these differences, both CITS and NITS demonstrated similar cue reactivity patterns for most measures.

Conclusions:

• Converted intermittent smokers (CITS) display some lingering effects from their past daily smoking behavior.
• However, CITS and native intermittent smokers (NITS) exhibit largely similar responses to smoking cues.
• This suggests that unified behavioral interventions may be effective for both CITS and NITS cessation efforts.