Smokers with past major depressive disorder participating in a smoking cessation treatment study were interviewed at 6, 26, and 29 weeks postquit to retrospectively assess their smoking behavior using the timeline follow-back (TLFB) method. Participants also completed calendars by self-monitoring the number of cigarettes smoked each day for two 4-week periods over the 26-week follow-up. The 3-and 20-week test-retest reliabilities of the smoking TLFB interview were high. Agreement between participants' daily monitored smoking calendars and their self-reports from the TLFB interview was also high, providing strong evidence for the validity of the TLFB method for smoking. A smoking TLFB interview provides the opportunity to assess patterns of change in smoking and cessation longitudinally over extended time frames.The assessment of smoking behavior is of critical importance to smoking cessation research. Recent directions in smoking research have emphasized that quitting smoking is a process taking place over a period of time rather than an absolute outcome. Understanding the natural history of smoking and the natural

Cigarette smokers with past major depressive disorder (MDD) received 8 group sessions of standard, cognitive-behavioral smoking cessation treatment (ST; n = 93) or standard, cognitive-behavioral smokiig cessation treatment plus cognitive-behavioral treatment for depression (CBT-D; n = 86). Although abstinence rates were high in both conditions (ST, 24.7%; CBT-D, 32.5%, at 1 year) for these nonpharmacological treatments, no main effect of treatment was found. However, secondary analyses revealed significant interactions between treatment condition and both recurrent depression history and heavy smoking ( > or =25 cigarettes a day) at baseline. Smokers with recurrent MDD and heavy smokers who received CBT-D were significantly more likely to be abstinent than those receiving ST (odds ratios = 2.3 and 2.6, respectively). Results suggest that CBT-D provides specific benefits for some, but not all, smokers with a history of MDD.

Background This study assessed the effects of heavy drinking with high or low congener beverages on next-day neurocognitive performance, and the extent to which these effects were mediated by alcohol-related sleep disturbance or alcoholic beverage congeners, and correlated with the intensity of hangover. Methods Healthy heavy drinkers age 21–33 (n = 95) participated in two drinking nights after an acclimatization night. They drank to a mean of 0.11 g% BrAC on vodka or bourbon one night with matched placebo the other night, randomized for type and order. Polysomnography recordings were made overnight; self-report and neurocognitive measures were assessed the next morning. Results After alcohol, people had more hangover and more decrements in tests requiring both sustained attention and speed. Hangover correlated with poorer performance on these measures. Alcohol decreased sleep efficiency and REM sleep, and increased wake time and next-day sleepiness. Alcohol effects on sleep correlated with hangover but did not mediate the effects on performance. No effect of beverage congeners was found except on hangover severity, with people feeling worse after bourbon. Virtually no sex differences appeared. Conclusions Since drinking to this level affects complex cognitive abilities, safety could be affected, with implications for driving and for safety sensitive occupations. Congener content affects only how people feel the next day so does not increase risk. The sleep disrupting effects of alcohol did not account for the impaired performance so other mechanisms of effect need to be sought. Since hangover symptoms correlate with impaired performance, these might be contributing to the impairment.