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Introduction: In behavioural smoking cessation interventions the identifi cation of triggers for craving is a major aim. Previous research showed pictorial presentation with nicotine-related content from the initial phase of the smoking ritual to be of highly incentive character, whereas pictures from the terminal phase hardly trigger any craving at all. The underlying question of this study is as to which extent pictorial presentations from the terminal phase of smoking, other than in usual smokers, cause nicotine craving in a population of smokers with an additional addiction to alcohol. Methods: We conducted two studies, each including 12 males and 12 females with a combined alcohol- and tobacco dependence. The participants were presented pictures with smoking-related content from the different phases of the smoking ritual.Participants provided subjective reports of smoking-related craving and affective reactions such as valence and arousal. Picture material and rating mode have frequently been applied in previous research. Results: As in previous studies with smokers without a diagnosis of substance abuse, in our population of alcohol-dependent smokers pictures from the initial phase of smoking resulted in a higher degree of nicotine craving than pictures from the terminal phase. But, in addition, we observed a gender-specifi c interaction effect: For the more unpleasant visual content from the terminal phase, females reported a signifi cantly higher nicotine craving than males. Our analyses suggest the arousal following the picture viewing to be responsible for this fi nding. Discussion: Possible implications for gender-specifi c smoking treatment are being discussed.Triggers for nicotine craving, which are of particular importance in women, should receive special attention in these programs