This research investigated the effect of alcohol consumption on smoker
s' general levels of craving for cigarettes and their reactivity to sm
oking-related cues. Cue reactivity was evaluated across multiple trial
s of exposure to both imaginal and in vivo presentations of smoking an
d non-smoking stimuli. On imagery trials, subjects imagined either smo
king and non-smoking scenarios; during in vivo trials subjects watched
an experimenter either smoke a cigarette or drink water. Measures inc
luded self-reported craving to smoke and selected somatovisceral respo
nses. Subjects (n = 60) completed two sessions, the first examined cue
reactivity in the absence of alcohol. In Session 2 subjects were told
they were consuming alcohol; half received placebo and the other half
were given ethanol (0.75 ml/kg). Following beverage consumption, subj
ects were exposed to the cue manipulation. In both sessions, exposure
to smoking stimuli enhanced craving in each presentation mode and incr
eased skirt conductance levels in the in vivo mode. Alcohol intoxicati
on produced a generalized increase in craving but did not selectively
enhance craving or physiological reactivity to smoking stimuli. The re
sults are discussed in terms of models of craving and processes throug
h which alcohol may influence craving to smoke.