title: Prize contingency management for smoking cessation: a randomized trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Adjunctive behavioral smoking cessation treatments have the potential to improve outcomes beyond standard care. The present study had two aims: (1) compare standard care (SC) for smoking (four weeks of brief counseling and monitoring) to SC plus prize-based contingency management (CM), involving the chance to earn prizes on days with demonstrated smoking abstinence (carbon monoxide (CO) ≤6 ppm); and (2) compare the relative efficacy of two prize reinforcement schedules-one a traditional CM schedule, and the second an early enhanced CM schedule providing greater reinforcement magnitude in the initial week of treatment but equal overall reinforcement.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (N=81 nicotine-dependent cigarette smokers) were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Prize CM resulted in significant reductions in cigarette smoking relative to SC. These reductions were not apparent at follow-up. We found no meaningful differences between the traditional and enhanced CM conditions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings reveal that prize CM leads to significant reductions in smoking during treatment relative to a control intervention, but the benefits did not extend long-term.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Chrysler Drive, Detroit, MI 48201, USA. Electronic address: dledgerw@med.wayne.edu.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Ledgerwood
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Chrysler Drive, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
authors.forename: Cynthia L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Arfken
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Ave., Farmington, CT 06030, USA.
authors.forename: Nancy M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Petry
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Ave., Farmington, CT 06030, USA.
authors.forename: Sheila M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Alessi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000378:metabolism; D003367:Cotinine / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D012201:Reward; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D002248:Carbon Monoxide; D003367:Cotinine
keywords: Cigarette; Contingency management; Prize; Tobacco; Treatment efficacy