Associations between pain intensity and urge to smoke: Testing the role of negative affect and pain catastrophizing

•Research indicates substantial covariation between pain and tobacco smoking.•This is the first cross-sectional examination of current pain and urge to smoke.•Pain was positively associated with urge to smoke for negative affect relief.•Pain was associated with greater smoking urge via greater negative affect. Cigarette smokers are more likely to experience pain than nonsmokers, and experimental research indicates that pain is a potent motivator of smoking. Urge to smoke is a predictor of early relapse, yet associations between pain and urge to smoke have yet to be tested among daily smokers. This study aimed to conduct the first crosssectional test of associations between current pain intensity and urge to smoke, and to test the role of negative affect and pain catastrophizing in relations between pain intensity and urge to smoke. Participants (N = 229, 42.4% Female, 38.9% black/African American, Mcpd = 21.9) were recruited for a laboratory study of pain and smoking, and these data were collected at the baseline session. Data were analyzed using a series of regressions and conditional process models. Current pain intensity was positively associated with urge to smoke, and urge to smoke for the relief of negative affect. There was an indirect association via state negative affect, such that pain intensity was positively associated with negative affect, which in turn was associated with greater urge to smoke. Further, positive associations between pain intensity and urge to smoke were only evident among smokers who endorsed low (vs high) levels of catastrophizing. These findings contribute to an emerging literature indicating that pain and related constructs are relevant to the maintenance of tobacco smoking. Future research should examine how painrelevant cognitive-affective factors may influence associations between the experience of pain and motivation to smoke tobacco.