Smoking-related videos for use in cue-induced craving paradigms

Abstract

Environmental cues (e.g., the sight of a cigarette) have long been recognized as important triggers for craving in smokers. Available imaging technologies (e.g., fMRI) allow investigation of the neural mechanisms for cue-induced craving, but there stands a need for a cue-delivery system compatible with an MRI environment. We developed a standardized set of 24 high-resolution videos, 12 containing cigarette smoking scenes (e.g., lighting up), and 12 containing neutral scenes (e.g., reading a book), each 30 seconds long, with comparable lighting, visual complexity, and background filmed by a professional cinematographer. Study participants were 20 smokers (mean age=37.7 years, 50% female). Each was exposed to the 24 videos in a random order under laboratory conditions. Dependent measures included heart rate, blood pressure, skin conductance, skin temperature, and self-reported craving (0-100) following each video. Overall findings indicated that smokers had greater reactivity to the smoking videos than to neutral videos (p<.01). Follow-up univariate analyses revealed significant cue effects on self-reported craving, galvanic skin response, and skin temperature. Interestingly, exploratory examination of gender revealed that men had higher blood pressure and skin temperature responses than women, and that women had higher responses when viewing videos of women smoking than when viewing men smoking. Results support this set of videos as an effective tool for investigation of cue-elicited craving, and raise the possibility of unique gender effects in cue reactivity. KeywordsCue-reactivity; Craving; Nicotine; Smoking; Video Cigarette smoking continues to pose a major worldwide public health threat (American Cancer Society [ACS], 2006). While some gains have been made in reducing the initiation of smoking in various targeted groups, cessation rates have increased little in the past decade in spite of numerous widely available intervention strategies (e.g., nicotine replacement) to smokers (ACS, 2006). Indeed, estimates indicate that across the United States, of those who attempt to quit, only 4.7% remain abstinent at one year post-cessation (ACS, 2006).In considering the factors that make successful cessation so difficult, studies over the past decade have pointed to a preeminent role of environmental cues (e.g., sight or smell of cigarettes) that can trigger strong cravings or urges, long after the acute effects of nicotine withdrawal have subsided (Carter & Tiffany, 1999). These cue-induced craving reactions have been modeled reliably under laboratory conditions with smokers experimentally exposed to Correspondence can be sent to Dr. Erblich at: Department of Oncological Sciences, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1130, New York, NY 10029, Telephone: 212-659-5516, Facsimile: 212-659-5507, Email: joel.erblich@mssm.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early...

Craving, Cue Reactivity, and Stimulus Control Among Early-Stage Young Smokers: Effects of Smoking Intensity and Gender

“…The present findings, very much consistent with the adult literature (Field & Duka, 2004;Saladin et al, 2012;Tong et al, 2007), show that adolescent females show stronger increases in craving in response to cues than do males. Although both males and females showed increases in cue-elicited craving, the increase was higher among females.…”

“…Women within this same study also trended (i.e., nonsignificant difference) toward heightened responses to smoking cues. Similar research from others (Colamussi, Bovbjerg, & Erblich, 2007;Field & Duka, 2004;Tong, Bovbjerg, & Erblich, 2007) has demonstrated heightened craving in response to smoking and/or stress cues among women. However, in one study most similar to ours, adult smokers administered a cue-exposure session were tested for the effects of gender, smoker group (regular smokers vs. chippers), and their interaction.…”

A comparison of emotion regulation strategies in response to craving cognitions: Effects on smoking behaviour, craving and affect in dependent smokers

“…The videos each show male and female actors of a variety of ages and ethnicities smoking cigarettes. These were selected from a set of 12 videos which have previously been shown to effectively induce cue-elicited craving (Tong, Bovbjerg, & Erblich, 2007).…”

Gender Differences in Responses to Cues Presented in the Natural Environment of Cigarette Smokers

“…Some studies have concluded that females report higher craving in response to smoking cues (vs. neutral cues) than males 13,14 while others report equivalent levels of post smoking cue craving across genders. 15,16 Taken together, the extant research on gender effects in cue reactivity suggests that, though females may be more reactive to stress cues than males, the evidence for gender differences in smoking cue reactivity is less consistent.…”