Michael J. Zvolensky

TL;DR: The authors summarizes empirical evidence suggesting that smoking and panic problems often co-occur; that smoking is a risk factor for, and may serve to maintain, panic attacks and panic disorder; and that premorbid panic-specific vulnerability variables and fullblown panic problems are related to coping-oriented smoking motives and perhaps to the maintenance of smoking behavior.

TL;DR: The nature and prevalence of this apparently costly, yet largely unrecognized, co-occurrence of health care problems is described and the need to assess for smoking among persons with panic disorder and the potential need for specialized treatment approaches is assessed.

TL;DR: It is indicated that smokers with PD reported greater levels of anxiety and bodily distress than smokers without PD and than nonsmokers with PD at the post-challenge assessment and recovery period and the linear decrease in anxiety, but not bodily distress, was significantly more steep for nonsmoker with PD than for smokers withPD.

TL;DR: Smokers with panic disorder showed greater motivation to smoke in order to reduce negative affect (but not other reasons for smoking), reported anxiety symptoms but not non-anxiety symptoms as problematic obstacles to quitting during past quit attempts, and reported lower levels of confidence in remaining abstinent when emotionally distressed.

TL;DR: It is suggested that AS is an important individual difference factor that, when coupled with higher rates of smoking, is associated with greater levels of avoidance and anticipatory anxiety among daily smokers.