Smoking topography and abstinence in adult female smokers

• Less intense cigarette puffing characteristics may predict abstinence.
• Examined puff characteristics and abstinence in adult female smokers.
• Results showed little evidence of a topography–abstinence relationship.
• A predictive relationship may be attributable to the inclusion of male smokers.

Preliminary evidence, within both adults and adolescents, suggests that the intensity with which cigarettes are smoked (i.e., smoking topography) is predictive of success during a cessation attempt. These reports have also shown topography to be superior compared to other variables, such as cigarettes per day, in the prediction of abstinence. The possibility that gender may influence this predictive relationship has not been evaluated but may be clinically useful in tailoring gender-specific interventions. Within the context of a clinical trial for smoking cessation among women, adult daily smokers completed a laboratory session that included a 1-hour ad libitum smoking period in which measures of topography were collected (N = 135). Participants were then randomized to active medication (nicotine patch vs. varenicline) and abstinence was monitored for 4 weeks. Among all smoking topography measures and all abstinence outcomes, a moderate association was found between longer puff duration and greater puff volume and continued smoking during the active 4-week treatment phase, but only within the nicotine patch group. Based on the weak topography–abstinence relationship among female smokers found in the current study, future studies should focus on explicit gender comparisons to examine if these associations are specific to or more robust in male smokers.