Lack of inhibitory control predicts cigarette smoking dependence: evidence from a non-deprived sample of light to moderate smokers

Abstract

Objective: To examine the relationship between prepotent inhibition capacities and cigarette dependence in a sample of non-deprived light to moderate smokers.

Methods: Fifty volunteer smokers were screened with a laboratory go-stop paradigm, and self-reports of cigarette dependence (Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, FTND) and cigarette craving (revised Questionnaire on Smoking Urge, QSU-12).

Results: Correlation and regression analyses showed that lower prepotent inhibition capacities predict higher levels of cigarette dependence when individual differences in processing speed, craving states, and age were controlled for. In addition, lower inhibition capacity is associated with a higher number of cigarettes smoked per day.

Conclusions: A poor ability to inhibit prepotent responses seems to be one of the individual factors related to cigarette smoking dependence.