The Reliability and Stability of Puff Topography Variables in Non-Daily Smokers Assessed in the Laboratory.
BACKGROUND
Puff topography variables, often measured using the Clinical Research Support System device, have traditionally been studied in regular, daily smokers and have been shown to be highly stable. However, more recent research has focused on non-daily smokers as a population of interest. As such, the aim of this article was to examine puff topography stability (cross-cigarette agreement over time) and reliability (within-cigarette consistency) in non-daily smokers across six laboratory sessions.


METHODS
One hundred seven non-daily smokers attended six laboratory sessions over the course of 3 months. At each session, they smoked one cigarette through the Clinical Research Support System pocket, in addition to completing questionnaires about their smoking history and dependence.


RESULTS
Puff topography measurements were highly reliable (α values ranged from 0.87-0.95) and puff behavior was highly stable across sessions (r values ranged from 0.38-0.84). Adding sessions substantially improved reliability estimates. Aspects of puffing behavior observed in session, including puff volume, puff duration, time of puff peak, and total cigarette volume were related to level of smoke exposure, measured by expired carbon monoxide. Instability in puffing behavior was not predicted by recent or long-term smoking patterns.


CONCLUSIONS
Puff topography appears to be a stable and routinized aspect of smoking in non-daily smokers. The feasibility of assessing puff topography in this population is supported by the high reliabilities observed, though it should be noted that reliability greatly improved by having more than one session.
Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY.
Julie C
JC
Gass
Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY.
Lisa J
LJ
Germeroth
Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY.
Jennifer M
JM
Wray
Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY stiffany@buffalo.edu.
Stephen T
ST
Tiffany
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012906:Smoke / Q000032:analysis*; D012907:Smoking / Q000639:trends; D062789:Tobacco Products / Q000032:analysis*; D055815:Young Adult
D012906:Smoke; D002248:Carbon Monoxide