SUBJECTIVE AND BEHAVIORAL-EVALUATION OF CIGARETTE CRAVINGS

Cigarette cravings were evaluated in a sample of moderately heavy smok ers, using the Questionnaire os Smoking Urges (QSU: Tiffany and Drobes 1991), which produces scores on two factors, related to the positive (factor I) and negative (factor II)-reinforcing properties of smoking, respectively. Smoking motivation was also assessed behaviourally usin g a progressive-ratio operant procedure, in which responding on a comp uter keyboard was reinforced by puffs on a cigarette, under a progress ively increasing work requirement. Abstinence (4-14 h) increased score s on both subjective and behavioural measures. In non-deprived subject s, behavioural measures and cigarette liking correlated more strongly with factor I of the QSU than with factor II, while in abstinent subje cts, correlations with factor II were stronger than with factor I. The significant relationships between the QSU and cigarette-reinforced pr ogressive-ratio operant performance support the validity of both of th ese procedures as measures of cigarette craving.