US researchers identify an effective way to quit smoking

The study, led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and conducted across four healthcare systems, found that participants offered financial incentives of up to $600 were more likely to stop smoking after six months. The findings were published in the JAMA medical journal on October 3.

The trial focused on patients who continued to smoke and had been referred for low-dose CT scans to screen for lung cancer. Many participants came from medically underserved communities, including people with lower incomes, residents of rural areas, and Black and Hispanic adults.

Researchers compared 4 approaches to smoking cessation: standard care with referrals to support services, standard care combined with free cessation medication, medication plus financial rewards, and the same package supplemented by a text-based behavioral tool called FutureMe. The tool encouraged participants to imagine their lives without smoking.

After six months, the proportion of participants who had quit smoking was 4.3% among those receiving standard care, 5.1% among those offered free medication, 8.8% among those receiving medication and financial incentives, and 7.2% among those who also used FutureMe. Abstinence was verified through blood or urine tests.

Under the incentive programme, participants could receive up to $600 in payments tied to verified smoking cessation: $100 after two weeks, $200 after three months, and $300 after six months.

The results suggest that financial rewards can help people quit smoking more effectively than standard care or free medication alone, particularly among those who have struggled to stop in the past.

“Adding financial incentives increased quit rates in a population that can be especially difficult to reach with traditional smoking cessation approaches,” said Scott D. Halpern, the study’s senior author and director of the Palliative and Advanced Illness Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that regular smoking impacts hair loss and accelerates early graying.