Introduction. Emotional responsiveness (ER) has been theorized to play a protective role in pathways to tobacco initiation, regular use, and dependence, yet a possible association between ER and smoking behavior has not been studied. Our aim was to test whether measuring ER to a neutral stimulus was associated with decreased odds of current smoking. Methods. We measured ER and smoking status (current, former, and never) in two datasets: a cross-sectional dataset of persons with diabetes ( ) and a prospective dataset of depressed patients ( ) from an urban primary care system. Because there were few former smokers in the datasets, smoking status was dichotomized (current versus former/never) and measured at baseline (cross-sectional dataset) or at 36 weeks after-baseline (prospective dataset). ER was ascertained with response to a neutral facial expression (any ER versus none). Results. Compared to their nonresponsive counterparts, adjusted odds of current smoking were lower among participants endorsing emotional responsiveness in both the cross-sectional and prospective datasets (ORs = .29 and .32, ’s , resp.). Discussion. ER may be protective against current smoking behavior. Further research investigating the association between ER and decreased smoking may hold potential to inform treatment approaches to improve smoking prevalence. 1. Introduction In the United States about 20% of persons aged 16 and older report smoking, and smoking rates are higher among persons from lower socioeconomic strata [1]. While a range of treatments exist to help smokers quit, among persons from lower socioeconomic groups the evidence that interventions increase cessation is sparse [2]. Elucidation of novel factors associated with smoking behavior holds potential to substantively improve understanding of who experiments with tobacco, who becomes a regular user, or who successfully quits. Moreover, uncovering such person-level factors may inform adjustments to treatment approaches that prevent initiation, decrease prevalence of regular tobacco use, and support cessation. Person-level characteristics associated with smoking behavior are generally classified as psychopathology, personality, or gene related. Depressive symptoms, anxiety, psychosis, anger, social alienation, impulsivity, sensation seeking tendency, and attentional dysfunction have all been associated with current smoking [3]. Neurotic, extraverted, and open personality characteristics are associated with lifetime tobacco use [4]. Genetic variations in the nicotinic and dopamine receptors have been associated
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