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Quitting smoking seems to be more promising when people take group training at work and are rewarded for their performance. A study from the University of Maastricht, the results of which are published today by The Lancet Public Health (pdf)
Among the participants at the training stoppage, it was found that those who had been rewarded did not smoke much more often after one year. [19659002] Maastricht researchers distributed more than 600 smoker employees from dozens of companies in a variety of sectors to a research group and a control group. All study participants completed a group training of seven sessions of one and a half hours to quit smoking at work.
Gift Certificates
Half of the participants received a gift certificate at the end of the course. from 50 euros. If they persisted after three months, they would receive another good gift. Six non-smoker months were rewarded with a third coupon of 50 euros. Those who still did not smoke after one year received a voucher of € 200.
41% of smokers in the research group still did not smoke after one year. Of the control group participants who did not receive a gift certificate, only 26% were still non-smokers after one year.
Longer smoking, better this is
According to previous research, it was already clear that the chances of coming back after stopping smoking training diminished as time progressed. past. This study confirms this image
In the group that was rewarded as well as in the control group, the majority of people who fell into smoke within six months. In the second half of the research period, few people have resumed their bad habit.
"If a company offers its employees group training to quit smoking, combined with a reward, it works very effectively," he says. Onno van Schayck, professor of preventive medicine. "And for that, you do not have to spend a lot, it's both a combination of courses and a reward." In a Swiss study in which people received 1,600 euros if they stopped smoking after one year, but no course was less than ten percent successful in quitting. "
Less educated people are just as promising
This approach worked equally well for people of different income groups and different levels of education. Experience shows that anti-tobacco programs are generally harder to reach for the low-educated and low-income people.
"This is perhaps the best result of our research," says Van Schayck. Now, it was very difficult to reach this population group and to help them quit smoking, many studies have shown that this group of people was failing. very satisfied with the result of our study in which she succeeds. "
The Benefits Go Beyond the Costs
Employers who offered smoking cessation courses to their staff – and in half the cases reward – According to Van Schayck, they are enthusiastic [19659002] "The costs they incur for this program are not attributable to the costs of work failures due to smoking breaks, sick leave related to tobacco, serious illnesses that people incur. and premature death.
In a new study, researchers are trying to convince as many companies as possible to offer training to quit smoking and reward their employees who smoke. [19659018]
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