Effects of cigarette smoking on phobic anxiety

Smokers report that smoking reduces anxiety. However, experimental research on the anxiety-reducing effects of smoking is limited to two self-report studies, both of which have methodological problems. We tested the effects of smoking on self-reported anxiety and avoidance behavior in a behavioral avoidance test (BAT) using a large white rat. In a counterbalanced within subjects design, 20 rat phobic female smokers smoked or were smoking deprived in two separate administrations of the BAT. A second group of 20 rat phobic nonsmokers also received two BATs. Subjects manifested substantial anxiety during BATs. However, neither smoking condition nor smoker versus nonsmoker status affected self-reported or motoric anxiety. Although smoking did not reduce anxiety in this study, smoking may affect anxiety in other situations, such as social settings, where the stimulus is more diffuse or less intense. It may also affect anxiety in individuals who are heavier smokers than our subjects, who smoked only 10-20 cigarettes per day.