Money's Better Than E-Cigs Or Nicotine Gum At Helping Smokers Quit, Says Study (reuters.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Providing free electronic cigarettes or other stop-smoking products to employees to get them to give up real cigarettes is less effective than the threat of taking away a cash reward for quitting, according to a new study that weighs the effectiveness of a variety of workplace incentive programs. The findings, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, call into question the claims by e-cigarette enthusiasts that the devices may be better than traditional quit aids at helping smokers to stop. The study is also significant because it may be the first to look at programs to get all smoking employees to quit, whether or not they've decided they want to do so. The results show that if the motivation isn't there, neither are the positive results. 9.5 percent of participants who got the free smoking cessation products plus a cash reward ($100 for the first month, an additional $200 at the three-month mark and $300 if they stayed smoke-free for six months) for staying away from tobacco quit.

Comments

I'm not convinced.

[AvitarX]

I smoked a pack a day, and ended up using a vape (a mod box, not a little stick thing which has failed me in the past) to quit.

I save far more than the money they're talking about, and actually quit.

People buy a carton at a time, $100 isn't really much more than just quitting rather than buying a carton.

Re: I'm not convinced.

[chispito]

That was my thought. If someone will quit for $600 over the course of a few months, wouldnâ(TM)t they quit, anyway? Thatâ(TM)s less than theyâ(TM)ll save by not buying cigarettes.

Well, it stands to reason that the magic number was the savings AND the bonus combined. Or the psychological effect of being given something extra if they are incapable of internalizing the long term savings alone.

Well to be fair a LACK of money also helps

[Anonymous Coward]

I successfully quit after losing my job and being unable to afford cigarettes

This is part of the war on Vaping

[SuperKendall]

For whatever reason, there seem tone a lot of people who have decided vaping is really bad, and are trying to kill it, so I see this article as another arm of that effort.

I personally hate smoking. Like really detest it. But vaping while I find a bit annoying, is 1000x times less annoying or horrible than real smoking.

It's also far safer, and gives people nicotine they crave without being nearly as dangerous as "real" smoking.

So don't give in to the people who are trying to kill off vaping, it is helping a LOT of people really improve their health profile.

Re:This is part of the war on Vaping

[thegarbz]

there seem tone a lot of people who have decided vaping is really bad, and are trying to kill it

Ever heard of the cigarette industry?

Re:Holy Cow

[Joce640k]

All the people who actually have quit disagree with you.