Workplace smoking-cessation programs that offered financial incentives tripled the rates of smoking cessation compared with programs that offered free cessation aids or e-cigarettes, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study randomly assigned 6006 smokers employed by 54 companies to usual care (information on the benefits of quitting smoking and motivational texts on quitting) or usual care plus 1 of 4 smoking-cessation interventions: free cessation aids (nicotine-replacement therapy or pharmacotherapy followed by e-cigarettes if therapies failed); free e-cigarettes; free cessation aids plus $600 in rewards for sustained abstinence; or free cessation aids plus $600 in redeemable funds with money deducted for missed quit targets.