Table 2.

Session Measures and Operationalization of Smoking Behavior and Product Usage

Measure	Sessions	Items	Likert Range	Measure Description
Stanford Expectancies in Treatment Scale (SETS) 32	Baseline; Week 4 – Week 16	7	Strongly disagree – Strongly agree	Assesses positive and negative expectancies regarding fears, perceived efficacy, expected side effects, and treatment outcomes.
Treatment Satisfaction Survey	Week 12; Week 16	10	Not at all helpful – Very helpful; Poor – Excellent	This author-constructed measure examines participant’s overall satisfaction regarding the quality of the intervention they received, study personnel, and treatment outcomes.
Symptom Side Effects33	Week 2 – Week 12	37	Not at all – Very much	Assesses common side effects related to NRT usage, nicotine withdrawal, and medication use in general (e.g., headaches, dry mouth, etc.).
Fagerström Test for Cigarette Dependence (FTCD) 34	Baseline; Week 8 – Week 16	6	-	Assesses various aspects of cigarette dependence and severity of smoking behaviors.
Questionnaire of Smoking Urges (QSU) 35	Week 1 – Week 4	10	Strongly disagree – Strongly agree	Smoking urges were assessed at the beginning (pre-QSU) and conclusion (post-QSU) of active intervention sessions using this measure.
Minnesota Nicotine Withdrawal Scale (MNWS) 36	Baseline; Week 8 – Week 16	8	None – Severe	Assesses withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, sleep disturbance, or restlessness. This was administered at the beginning (pre-MNWS) and end (post-MNWS) of active intervention sessions.
Brief Wisconsin Index of Smoking Dependence Motives (WISDM) 27	Baseline; Week 8 – Week 16	37	Not true of me at all – Extremely true of me	Assesses several domains of smoking including dependence and motives for use.

Measure	Sessions	Measure Description
Cigarettes per Day (CPD)	Week 1 – Week 16	Assed via self-report calendars using the Timeline Follow-back interview (TLFB). 37 These were completed daily by participants and returned to staff at each study visit, updating incomplete entries as needed.
Point Prevalence Abstinence	Week 4 – Week 16	Determined by participant’s self-reported smoking behavior and verified through expired CO assessment. Participants were considered abstinent if they reported smoking no cigarettes the day of or prior to their session and if their CO level was less than 5 ppm. 38,39
NicoBloc® and Nicotine Lozenge Adherence	Week 2 – Week 12	In the NicoBloc® group, daily adherence was confirmed if participants used the product for 80% of the cigarettes they reported smoking. Daily adherence for the lozenge group was calculated based on the participant having used at least 80% of the recommended minimum dose (8 lozenges) in a day. From these values, an overall adherence rate was calculated and participants that were adherent for 80% or more days of the intervention were coded as adherent, following the conventions of other smoking cessation studies. 19,40