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We examined dietary supplement use for weight loss and perceptions about safety, efficacy, and regulatory oversight of these products. A random digit-dialed telephone survey was conducted in [2005][2006], with a representative sample of 3,500 US adults. The survey assessed the beliefs and practices related to weight control. Outcome measures included the prevalence of dietary supplement use for weight reduction, demographic profile of supplement users, and knowledge about safety, efficacy, and regulation of dietary supplements. Of the adults who made a serious weight-loss attempt (n = 1,444), 33.9% reported ever using a dietary supplement for weight loss. Supplement use was more common among women (44.9%) vs. men (19.8%); those aged 25-34; African Americans (48.7%) or Hispanics (41.6%) vs. whites (31.2%); less educated (38.4% high school degree or less vs. 31.1% some college or more); lower income households (41.8% made <$40K vs. 30.3% made ≥$40K); obese (40.7%) vs. overweight (29.1%); those who made more lifetime weight-loss attempts (42.0% made ≥3 vs. 22.1% made <3); and those who used more weight-loss methods (48.2% used ≥4 vs. 25.2% used <4). Many users and non-users of dietary supplements had misperceptions about these products-many believed they are evaluated for safety and efficacy by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before marketing, and that dietary supplements are safer than over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medications. Use of dietary supplements for weight loss is common. More information about dietary supplements is necessary to correct misperceptions and encourage the use of safe and effective weight-loss methods.

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Smokers (N = 116) were administered the Questionnaire of Smoking Urges (QSU; S. T. Tiffany & D. J. Drobes, 1991) to explore the measurement of drug urges or cravings. Confirmatory factor analysis replicated the 2-factor structure, using the 6 best items on each of the QSU factors, although further analyses indicated that 1 conceptual factor may be a better fit. Three different categories of internally consistent items were identified within the QSU: urges to smoke, expectancies from smoking, and intentions to smoke. Path-modeling techniques were used to demonstrate patterns of interrelationships among these categories. Despite the widespread criticism of single-item scales, the present approach indicated that they are useful. In this sample, a 2-item or 3-item "desire" scale effectively measured urges to smoke. Complex scales can obscure the direct measurement of urges or cravings for a cigarette. Kozlowski and Wilkinson (1987a, 1987b) proposed that the study of drug urges ("cravings") necessarily involves the study of selfreports of the intensity of the desire to use drugs and that ideal studies should include behavioral measures of drug taking and measures of biological events as well as subjective reports. Self-report measures are commonly used in drug research to establish urges to use drugs, but there has been relatively little work on how best to ask questions about drug urges.In the smoking literature, self-report measures of urges vary in length, content, and complexity and frequently include wording such as "craving a cigarette," "desire to smoke," "urge to smoke," "missing a cigarette," "need to smoke," and "want to smoke." Numerous measures have included one or two face-valid items rated with fixed-point Likert-type scales (e.g.,