https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180523172306.htm

"Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States, and nearly all large employers offer wellness programs aimed at getting people to quit. But, these programs vary considerably, and to date, there has been little evidence to suggest which designs and strategies are most effective," said lead author Scott D. Halpern, MD, PhD, an associate professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Medical Ethics and Health Policy, and a member of the Steering Committee of the Penn Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE). "The new study drives forward previous research by showing that even among smokers who are not cherry picked on the basis of their motivation to quit, financial incentives still triple quit rates, whereas offering free conventional cessation aids or free e-cigarettes accomplishes nothing at all."

The study enrolled more than 6,000 participants from across 54 U.S.-based companies. Participants were assigned to one of four smoking cessation intervention groups or usual care (consisting of access to information regarding the benefits of quitting smoking and a motivational text-messaging service). Smoking cessation interventions included usual care plus one of the following: free e-cigarettes, in flavors of participants' choosing; free cessation aids (nicotine patches, gum, and other medications, with free e-cigarettes only available for participants who've tried standard therapies previously); free cessation aids plus $600 in rewards for sustained abstinence from smoking; or free cessation aids plus $600 in redeemable funds, which were deposited in an account for each participant and removed if smoking cessation milestones were not met.