Anxiety sensitivity and smoking: a review

Smoking is a major public health problem and the leading preventable cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In recent years a high prevalence of smoking has been detected in people with psychological disorders. It has been proposed that certain psychological vulnerability factors could explain, at least in part, the relationship between smoking, anxiety and emotional disorders, such as anxiety sensitivity, anhedonia or distress tolerance. This paper is a descriptive review that focuses on analyze the role of anxiety sensitivity in relation to smoking-related variables, concluding that there is evidence that shows that this construct has an influence on smoking behaviour, its maintenance and the process of smoking cessation.