Dependent Measures

Craving was measured with subscales of the Short Tobacco Craving Questionnaire (S-TCQ).³⁵ The S-TCQ is a validated 12-item scale assessing subjective tobacco craving that includes subscales about anticipation of positive outcomes from smoking (Expectancy; eg, “I would enjoy a cigarette right now”) and relief from negative mood (Emotionality; eg, “I would be less irritable now if I could smoke”).

To assess mood during the experimental sessions, participants completed the Profile of Mood States (POMS).³⁶ The POMS is a standardized 72-item questionnaire consisting of adjectives that describe current positive and negative mood states. Participants rate how much they feel each adjective at the moment on a scale ranging from “Not at All” to “Extremely.” We focused on the anxiety subscale because we would expect the TSST to increase feelings of anxiety, whereas the control task should not increase anxiety.

Saliva samples were collected during the session in which participants completed the TSST at baseline, 20 min after the first spray, and 10, 20, and 50 min after the TSST. Saliva samples were assayed for cortisol by the Core Laboratory at the University of Chicago Hospitals General Clinical Research Center (Salimetrics LLC, State College, PA; sensitivity = 0.003 μg/dL). Saliva samples from four participants could not be analyzed because of insufficient quantities of saliva.

Heart rate (HR) and blood pressure were collected at six timepoints throughout the session using a standard blood pressure cuff (Omron Healthcare, Inc, Lake Forest, IL). From these values, mean arterial pressure (MAP) was calculated using the formula: [systolic BP + (2 × diastolic BP)]/3.