IntroductionExperimental manipulations intended to alter cognitive appraisals of smoking-related threats may affect cigarette smoking and motivation to quit. However, no previous measure has directly assessed perceptions of smoking-related threats as increasing and coming closer in space and/or time (i.e., “looming”). The current research develops such a measure of dynamic smoking-related threat appraisal: the Cigarette Smoking Consequences Looming Scale (CSCLS). MethodsIn Study 1 (N = 124 daily smokers), the researchers created an initial, scenario-based version of the CSCLS and refined the measure based on factor analysis. In Study 2, 143 daily smokers completed a condensed CSCLS organized around two factors (Physical and Social consequence of smoking). In each study, participants also completed measures of dispositional looming perception, motivation to quit smoking, and smoking outcome expectancies. ResultsThe CSCLS showed strong internal consistency and concurrent validity in that scores on the measure correlated as expected in both studies with a general tendency to perceive threats as looming, outcome expectancies for smoking, and motivation to quit smoking. ConclusionsMeasuring perceptions of smoking-related consequences as looming may provide greater insight into the cognitive factors associated with motivation to quit smoking, which in turn may inform communications about the risks of smoking.