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CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Decreasing Tobacco Use Among Workers: Incentives & Competitions to Increase Smoking Cessation

CDC

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

Worksite-based incentives and competitions to reduce tobacco use among workers offer rewards to individual workers and to teams as a motivation to participate in a cessation program or effort.
• Rewards can be provided for participation, for success in achieving a specified behavior change, or for both.
• Types of rewards may include guaranteed financial payments, lottery chances for monetary or other prizes, and return of self-imposed payroll withholdings.

The Task Force recommends worksite-based incentives and competitions when combined with additional interventions to support individual cessation efforts based on sufficient evidence of effectiveness in reducing tobacco use among workers.

Impact

Community mobilization integrated with additional interventions (i.e. stronger local laws for retailers) decrease youth tobacco use and access to these products.

Results / Accomplishments

Results from the Systematic Reviews:
Twelve studies qualified for the review.

Worksite-based Incentives and Competitions When Combined with Additional Interventions to Reduce Tobacco Use among Workers

• One group randomized trial of 32 worksites found a reduction in self-reported tobacco use of 2.1 percentage points (p=0.03) among workers in worksites with a smoking cessation program and self-imposed payroll withholdings.
• Tobacco quit rates: median increase of 4.3 percentage points (interquartile interval: 2.7 to 8.0 percentage points; 14 study arms in 11 studies).
• A subset of five studies evaluated a similar combination of interventions (including at a minimum, an incentive, a worksite-based tobacco cessation group, and educational materials or activities). In these studies, tobacco quit rates increased by a median of 10 percentage points.
• Individual rewards ranged from $10 to $237.
• Lottery prizes ranged from $40 to $500.
• The presence of an incentive or competition was not associated with a consistent increase in participation in worksite tobacco programs in the studies considered in this review; however participation rates were high in most of the intervention and comparison study arms.

About this Promising Practice

Primary Contact
The Community Guide
1600 Clifton Rd, NE
MS E69
Atlanta, GA 30329
(404) 498-1827
communityguide@cdc.gov
https://www.thecommunityguide.org/
Topics
Health / Alcohol & Drug Use
Source
Community Guide Branch Epidemiology and Analysis Program Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Location
USA
For more details
Target Audience
Adults
Miami-Dade Matters