Home Health Smokers are more likely to quit their habit and stay smoke-free if they are rewarded for doing so, study reveals

Smokers are more likely to quit their habit and stay smoke-free if they are rewarded for doing so, study reveals

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The incentives are particularly effective among pregnant women, who are twice as likely to quit when offered financial incentives (file image)

Smokers are more likely to quit their habit and stay smoke-free if they are rewarded for doing so, a study reveals.

The incentives are particularly effective among pregnant women, who are twice as likely to quit when offered financial incentives.

Health advocates say the “clear evidence” should lead to widespread implementation of reward programs for pregnant smokers.

They may take the form of cash payments, vouchers or return of money deposited by participants.

These plans are carried out in workplaces and clinics and sometimes as community programs.

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth and increases the chances of the baby being born with a low weight.

Research led by the University of East Anglia analyzed 48 studies, with 21,900 participants, that tested different reward schemes to help smokers quit.

For every 100 people who received financial incentives, ten were likely to successfully quit smoking at six months or more, compared with seven out of every 100 people who did not receive financial incentives.

The incentives are particularly effective among pregnant women, who are twice as likely to quit when offered financial incentives (file image)

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth and increases the chances of the baby being born with a low weight (file image)

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth and increases the chances of the baby being born with a low weight (file image)

For every 100 people who received financial incentives, 10 were likely to successfully quit smoking after six months or more (file image)

For every 100 people who received financial incentives, 10 were likely to successfully quit smoking after six months or more (file image)

Success rates continued beyond the end of the incentives.

Women who were pregnant and received rewards were much more likely to quit smoking than those in control groups, both at the end of pregnancy and after the baby was born (13 studies, 3,942 people).

For every 100 pregnant women who received financial incentives, 13 of them were likely to successfully quit smoking at six months or more, compared with six in 100 who did not receive financial incentives.

The studies varied in the total amounts of rewards that were paid, and there were no notable differences between trials that paid smaller amounts (less than US$100) compared to those that paid larger amounts (more than US$700).

However, the researchers noted that it is difficult to make a fair comparison in this situation because money has different levels of importance in different cultures and the studies they examined came from many different countries.

This made direct comparison of results between studies difficult.

Lead author Professor Caitlin Notley, from UEA Norwich Medical School, said: “Smoking is the leading preventable cause of poor health and premature death worldwide and stopping smoking is vitally important to help people to live in good health for longer.

‘We wanted to find out if offering people rewards helps them quit smoking in the long term.

‘We are now very confident that incentives help people, and pregnant women, quit smoking better than no incentives.

“Evidence also shows that the effectiveness of incentives endures even after the rewards have ceased.”

Women who were pregnant and received rewards were much more likely to quit smoking than those in the control group, both at the end of pregnancy and after the baby was born (file image)

Women who were pregnant and received rewards were much more likely to quit smoking than those in the control group, both at the end of pregnancy and after the baby was born (file image)

The government is currently implementing a national plan to offer all pregnant women who smoke financial incentives as well as support to quit smoking (file image)

The government is currently implementing a national plan to offer all pregnant women who smoke financial incentives as well as support to quit smoking (file image)

The government is currently implementing a national plan to offer all pregnant women who smoke financial incentives as well as support to quit smoking.

However, funding for this scheme will run out in March 2025, which campaigners fear could undermine the progress made in reducing maternal smoking rates.

The Pregnancy Smoking Challenge Group, a coalition including the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, among others, is calling on the government to extend the scheme for the duration of this parliament.

Professor Linda Bauld, co-author of the review and co-chair of the SPCG, said: “Smoking during pregnancy is a leading cause of poor birth outcomes, including stillbirth and miscarriage.

‘These findings show that financial incentives during pregnancy can more than double the chances of quitting and that incentives are also effective in preventing women from relapsing into smoking after giving birth.

“This evidence supports the case for continuing to invest in the current national financial incentive scheme for pregnant women in England.”

Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, another co-author from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said: “People are more cautious during pregnancy about using many of the approved pharmacological interventions for smoking cessation.”

‘That’s why we focus on ways we can help pregnant people quit smoking.

‘There is a lot of evidence to suggest that this intervention acts on the brain’s psychological reward systems, which we know are heavily involved in nicotine addiction.

‘So it’s not like these people could have quit anyway and then get paid and decide to do it.

“Many people in these studies have tried to quit smoking many times, really wanted to quit and couldn’t, and this helped them.”

Dr Clea Harmer, chief executive of baby charity Sands and co-chair of SPCG, said: “The evidence is clear that financial incentives are very effective in helping pregnant women to stop smoking and stay smoke-free.” .

“We urge the government to expand the national incentive scheme to ensure women and families get the support they need to have a smoke-free pregnancy and a healthy baby.”

The results of the study are published by the international medical review organization Cochrane Review.

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