Effect of different cue stimulus delivery channels on craving reactivity: Comparing in vivo and video cues in regular cigarette smokers

Exposure to smoking cues reliably produces increases in craving compared to exposure to appropriately matched neutral cues. While different types of stimuli have been used as cue materials in such studies, the channel through which cues are delivered is not often varied in a systematic fashion in smoking research. This study compared the effect of exposure to active in vivo cues compared to two cues, matched for content and time, delivered via videotape on self-reported smoking craving. Results revealed that active in vivo cues produced the highest craving ratings, followed next by active video cues, and last by neutral video cues. These results suggest that craving is sensitive to stimulus delivery channel and that video presentation of smoking cues is a viable manipulation option in cue reactivity studies.