A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that use of monetary incentives as part of a smoking cessation program significantly increases chances of successful cessation.
The researchers recruited 900 GE employees for the study, with half being enrolled in an incentive program and half assigned to a cessation program without incentive. Those offered incentives were told they would receive $100 to complete the cessation program, $250 if they quit smoking 6 months after completion and $400 if they were still smoke-free after a year. A year after the conclusion of the study 15% of those in the incentive program quit smoking successfully, as compared to 5% in the non-incentive group. On average, 2-3% of smokers quit successfully each year- yet an estimated 70% report that they have the desire to quit.
"Incentives do work in changing health behaviors, and they can be successful in people who have not succeeded using other approaches in the past," said study author Dr. Kevin Volpp, director of the Center for Health Incentives at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Wharton School in Philadelphia.
Volpp also noted an incentive program prods more people to successfully quit smoking because praticipants are provided with positive feedback as well as immediate gratification.
For employers, Volpp pointed out that it's often cost-effective to offer a financial incentive for employees to stop smoking, beacuase quitting boosts productivity and decreases absenteeism and health-care costs, he said.
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