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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2014 Jul 1:140:208-12.
doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.03.032. Epub 2014 Apr 13.

Prize contingency management for smoking cessation: a randomized trial

David M Ledgerwood  1 , Cynthia L Arfken  2 , Nancy M Petry  3 , Sheila M Alessi  3
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Prize contingency management for smoking cessation: a randomized trial

David M Ledgerwood et al. Drug Alcohol Depend. .

Abstract

Background: Adjunctive behavioral smoking cessation treatments have the potential to improve outcomes beyond standard care. The present study had two aims: (1) compare standard care (SC) for smoking (four weeks of brief counseling and monitoring) to SC plus prize-based contingency management (CM), involving the chance to earn prizes on days with demonstrated smoking abstinence (carbon monoxide (CO) ≤6 ppm); and (2) compare the relative efficacy of two prize reinforcement schedules-one a traditional CM schedule, and the second an early enhanced CM schedule providing greater reinforcement magnitude in the initial week of treatment but equal overall reinforcement.

Methods: Participants (N=81 nicotine-dependent cigarette smokers) were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions.

Results: Prize CM resulted in significant reductions in cigarette smoking relative to SC. These reductions were not apparent at follow-up. We found no meaningful differences between the traditional and enhanced CM conditions.

Conclusions: Our findings reveal that prize CM leads to significant reductions in smoking during treatment relative to a control intervention, but the benefits did not extend long-term.

Keywords: Cigarette; Contingency management; Prize; Tobacco; Treatment efficacy.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Average twice-daily carbon monoxide levels (parts per million) for combined CM conditions showed significant reductions relative to baseline and relative to Standard treatment (p < .05). Traditional and Enhanced CM conditions did not differ from each other. (Note: Traditional and Enhanced conditions are presented, but the combined CM condition is not, to enhance the readability of the graph).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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