Postcessation cigarette use: the process of relapse.

One hundred twenty-nine chronic smokers successfully completed a smoking cessation program composed of behavioral counseling and aversive smoking. During the two-year follow-up period, 92 of these subjects reported smoking. The progression from subjects' first cigarette to full relapse was examined via standardized telephone interviews. The latency between subjects' initial postcessation smoking episode and subsequent return to daily smoking was related to pretreatment confidence level, affective state at the time of the first cigarette, and origin of the first cigarette. Neither affective reaction nor coping response execution after the initial cigarette was related to the rate of relapse. Results are discussed in terms of current theory and treatment implications.