Incentives don't work in the long run when trying to quit smoking

Posted on Jul 22nd 2008 11:35PM by Martha Edwards

Filed Under: Womens Health, HealthWatch, Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment, Men's Health

'I'll take you on vacation if you quit smoking,' I told Jon a few months ago. An incredibly stressful situation at work lead to him taking up the habit again, much to my chagrin. And I've been doing what I can to get him to quit again, but to no avail. 'Thanks, but I have to do it for myself if it's going to last.' he tells me.

And the infuriating thing about it all? He's completely right. According to recent research, bribing smokers with incentives and prizes if they quit doesn't work, especially in the long run. So what does work? Social support, buddy systems and nicotine replacement therapies all have better success rates.

What made you quit? Or what's kept you from quitting?

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Tags: health, incentive, incentives, lung, lungs, prize, prizes, quit, quitters, quitting, smokers, smoking

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

aburley 7-23-2008 @ 8:49AM

I tried for years, I wasn't able to do it for my health. I took up running to loose weight and discovered I loved it, when I decided to try and run a marathon I knew I had to quit- that was 6 months and 11 days ago and I am thrilled to have finally quit after 24 years of smoking. I used nicotine replacement and it helped immensely but ultimately it was something that switched in my brain that made it possible. I will be running my first half marathon in January!

sunbelle 7-23-2008 @ 8:49AM

My husband and I smoked for years... Then we read a book called "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" by Allen Carr. I found it on Amazon, and we were both really skeptical, but the reviews were amazing so I bought a copy. We have been smoke free for over 2 years now. We've recommended it to lots of friends and everyone we know that has actually bought a copy and read it has never smoked again.

Chris 7-23-2008 @ 6:49PM

Chantix and the decision to quit, no more, no less. After seven days on Chantix I quit cold turkey after 20 years. I'm at 84 days smoke free and doin fine.