The relationship between cigarette use, nicotine dependence, and craving in laboratory volunteers

Abstract

Data from epidemiological studies suggest that individual differences in cigarettes per day (CPD) and duration of smoking account for only a small portion of the variance in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4 th ed.) (DSM-IV) nicotine dependence. However, DSM-IV may be an insensitive measure of nicotine dependence; other measures might better reflect the true nature of the relationship between use and dependence. This paper describes the relationship between cigarettes per day (CPD) and years smoking and the severity of nicotine dependence as measured by the Nicotine Dependence Syndrome Scale (NDSS). Furthermore, we assessed the validity of individual differences in nicotine dependence by determining whether they related to cue-evoked craving during abstinence. Data were pooled from five laboratory studies of 489 regular (i.e., 15+ CPD) smokers. In contrast to previously reported data demonstrating a relatively strong relationship between CPD and dependence in chippers (Shiffman & Sayette, 2005), CPD and years smoking accounted for a statistically significant, but small (<6%), portion of the variance in nicotine dependence in daily smokers. Individual differences in both CPD and years smoking had little or no relationship with craving. However, the magnitude of craving was significantly related to the degree of nicotine dependence even after controlling for use variables and excluding craving-related items on the NDSS. These data suggest that among moderate to heavy daily smokers, meaningful individual differences in nicotine dependence are observed independent of differences in current daily cigarette consumption and duration of smoking. Further research into the sources of this variance is critical to understanding the process of and risk for nicotine dependence.

Parsing peak provoked craving

“…This has the dual benefit of being parsimonious and also consistent with the data showing that craving intensity is related to outcomes such as smoking and dependence, regardless of source [3,4]. While the proposition that craving intensity matters may seem trivial, we should remember that some authors [5] have suggested that craving is epiphenomenal and perhaps unimportant, so the proposition is not trivial.…”

“…Yet evidence for this is scant. In fact, several of the papers cited show that craving has a linear relationship with important variables such as dependence [3] (although see [6]); i.e. that its effects are roughly constant across the spectrum of intensity.…”

Relapse to smoking during unaided cessation: clinical, cognitive and motivational predictors

“…Specifically, heavier nicotine intake may lead to greater neuroadaptation in mesocorticolimbic pathways, exacerbating motivational disturbances and anhedonia; and these aversive states may increase the individual's self-reported dependence on smoking to enhance subjective well-being. Despite evidence that indices of dependence and consumption correlate with one another, they have been found to be at least partially independent in moderate to heavy smokers (Donny et al, 2008); consequently several measures were included here.…”

Peak‐provoked craving deserves a seat at the research table

“…He bolsters his critique by citing the results from three studies [9][10][11]. While space constraints preclude a detailed critique of the three studies (see Supporting Information Appendix S1 for elaboration), we believe the cited research provides suboptimal tests of whether peak cravings are qualitatively distinct from more modest levels of craving.…”