Effects of repeated days of smoking cue exposure on urge to smoke and physiological reactivity

The present study investigated the effects of repeated days of laboratory-based smoking cue exposure on subjective and physiologic cue reactivity. Twenty non-treatment seeking moderate/heavy smokers completed three laboratory sessions approximately 7 days apart, each following a 10-hour nicotine deprivation period. Cue reactivity procedures consisted of a relaxation trial followed by two trials of in vivo cue exposure. Dependent measures included urge to smoke, a withdrawal questionnaire, mean arterial pressure (MAP), and heart rate (HR). A Condition (relaxation vs. cue exposure) by Day (1, 2, or 3) analysis of variance revealed a significant main effect of Condition (greater urge to smoke after cue exposure) but no significant main or interaction effect for Day. Similarly, MAP and HR change scores following cue exposure did not differ across test days. Cue-elicited changes in withdrawal symptoms were only observed on Day 1, but not when the interday interval was covaried. Results suggest that laboratory-based cue-elicited changes in urge to smoke, MAP, and HR are stable over three separate days.