Situational factors in cigarette smoking.

Situational factors related to smoking behavior in the natural environment were studied. Six subjects smoked all cigarettes over 10 days with a portable, electronic recording device which measured a number of frequency and time-based features of smoking. Subjects also coded activities and internal states associated with each cigarette smoked. Across subjects, there were considerable differences in the distribution of cigarettes smoked across the activity and internal states categories. Within subjects, all subjects showed variation in measures of smoking topography (number of puffs/cigarette, mean puff duration, total puff time/cigarette) as a function of situational variables. It did not appear that pharmacological factors could fully account for the substantial situational differences found. The results suggest that different factors may be involved in the control of different aspects of smoking topography.

Temporal patterns of smoking topography in the natural environment.

Temporal patterns of smoking topography were studied in the natural environment. Six smokers smoked all cigarettes over a 10-day period using a small portable electronic recording device which allowed the measurement of a number of aspects of smoking topography. When the data were averaged in 2-hour blocks across the 10-day smoking period, all subjects except one showed differences in smoking topography as a function of time of day. There was considerable intersubject variability in the aspects of smoking topography which varied over the smoking day, and subjects also differed in the pattern of changes seen.