Research paper
Bowen S, Marlatt A. Surfing the urge: brief mindfulness-based intervention for college student smokers. Psychol Addict Behav. 2009 Dec;23(4):666-71. doi:10.1037/a0017127
Why we cite it
Seminal empirical test of Marlatt's "urge surfing" concept. In a study of 123 undergraduate smokers, participants underwent a cue exposure task to trigger smoking urges, then received either brief mindfulness-based "urge surfing" instruction or no instruction. Groups did not differ on urge intensity — both experienced similar cravings. However, the mindfulness group smoked significantly fewer cigarettes over the 7-day follow-up. This demonstrates that mindfulness doesn't eliminate cravings; it changes the relationship to cravings. You still feel the urge, but you observe it without automatically complying. This distinction is critical for health behavior change: the goal is not to stop wanting unhealthy foods or habits but to notice the wanting, let it peak and subside, and choose a different response.
About the author
**Sarah Bowen** — BA Psychology, PhD Clinical Psychology (University of Washington, 2008; mentor G. Alan Marlatt). At time of paper: doctoral student/postdoc at UW Addictive Behaviors Research Center. Later Associate Professor, Pacific University (Portland, OR); affiliate research faculty, UW Psychiatry. Co-author of *Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for Addictive Behaviors: A Clinician's Guide* (Guilford Press, 2011; 2nd ed. 2021). Research focus: mindfulness-based therapies for relapse prevention, mechanisms of change in craving and thought suppression.
**G. Alan Marlatt** (1941–2011) (senior author/PI) — BA Psychology (University of British Columbia, 1964). PhD Clinical Psychology (Indiana University, 1968). Professor of Psychology and Director, Addictive Behaviors Research Center, University of Washington (1972–2011). Pioneer of the cognitive-behavioral relapse prevention model (with Judith Gordon, 1985). Created the "urge surfing" concept — picturing urges as waves that rise, peak, and subside. Developed BASICS (Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students), now used at ~2,000 universities. Champion of harm reduction in addiction treatment. Robert Wood Johnson Innovators Award (2001), Distinguished Researcher Award from Research Society on Alcoholism (2004). Passed away March 14, 2011 (melanoma), age 69.