Peer-reviewed
Craving for Cigarettes
The urge to smoke is by far the most commonly reported subjective response to cigarette withdrawal. It is worse in smokers with higher nicotine intake and can be reduced by a nicotine substitute. Although it may occur at any time during abstinence, it can be increased by stress and boredom and reduced when the smoker is kept occupied. Craving for cigarettes probably has multiple causation arising partly out of the perceived benefits of smoking and negative consequences of not smoking and partly as a direct result of loss of nicotine. Whatever its root causes it would be expected to involve general psychological processes such as associative learning and attribution. This paper draws together the threads of pharmacological and psychological levels of explanation for cigarette craving in an attempt to provide a clearer understanding of this phenomenon
Article, 1987