Effects of acute psychosocial stress on cigarette craving and smoking

Abstract

Introduction: Stress is thought to influence use of drugs, including cigarette smoking, but the mechanisms by which it does so are not clear. In this study, we investigated the effects of acute psychosocial stress on cigarette craving, the subjective effects of smoking, and smoking behavior in daily smokers.

Methods: Healthy male and female smokers participated in two experimental sessions in which they were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test or a nonstressful control task. For 2 hr after each task, they had repeated opportunities to either smoke or earn money. Physiological (heart rate, cortisol, and alpha-amylase) and subjective (anxiety and desire to smoke) measures were obtained before and after the tasks and after each smoking opportunity.

Results: Stress significantly increased cigarette craving but it did not increase smoking. When individual differences in nicotine dependence were taken into account, stress influenced CO boost and pleasure from smoking the first cigarette.

Discussion: Our results support previous evidence that acute psychosocial stress increases smoking desire.

Figure 1.

Changes in cigarette craving and the total number of smoking choices after control and stressful tasks. Data indicate mean ± SEM. Asterisks indicate a significant difference between the tasks (Student’s paired t test, p < .01). TSST = Trier Social Stress Test.