The magnitude and reliability of cue-specific craving in nondependent smokers

Background: Cue-reactivity is a robust phenomenon in regular cigarette smokers (Carter and Tiffany, 1999), but it has not been widely investigated in nondependent smokers. Further, most research on cue-specific craving assesses response to cues in a single experimental session. As such, investigations of cue-specific craving have primarily measured state-like but not trait-like responses to smoking stimuli. Methods: This study measured general and cue-specific craving in nondependent smokers and assessed the within-session and cross-session reliability of these two facets of craving. Participants (n= 154) attended five laboratory sessions over the course of three months and completed multiple cue-reactivity trials (using smoking and neutral in vivo and photographic stimuli) during each study visit. Results: Results indicated that smoking cues elicited significantly stronger craving than neutral cues across study sessions, and that craving ratings following smoking cues decreased across subsequent sessions. Within-session and cross-session reliability was extremely high. Conclusions: Overall, findings indicate that nondependent smokers experience reactivity to smoking cues, and that this response is quite reliable within and across sessions. Further, the magnitude of cue-specific craving was comparable to what has been observed in heavy, dependent smokers.