Craving and negative mood have long been associated with day-to-day smoking as two of the primary motivational forces behind the maintenance of the behavior, as well as significant barriers to smokers’ attempts to quit (Baker, Piper, McCarthy, Majeskie, & Fiore, 2004; Hughes, Higgins, & Hatsukami, 1990; Shiffman et al., 1997; Tiffany, 1990). Smokers making quit attempts readily describe their craving as the most frequent and salient symptom of abstinence (Center for Disease Control, 1994; Gritz, Carr, & Marcus, 1991), and craving remains a clinically relevant phenomenon, with treated and nontreated smokers alike readily able to report and describe the experience of craving (Shadel, Niaura, Brown, Hutchison, & Abrams, 2001).
