THE FAVORITE CIGARETTE OF THE DAY

The choice of a favorite cigarette smoked during a given day varies co nsiderably. Preferences are related to nicotine dependence and the lif estyles of smokers. In a sample of 5124 smokers, the ''after-dinner ci garette'' was chosen as the cigarette which they would miss most, whil e the next largest proportion of smokers (33%) said that they would mi ss the ''first cigarette of the morning'' most. The latter group score d highest on tests of nicotine dependence. In contrast, infrequent smo kers (''chippers'') chose the after-dinner cigarette.