Contingency Management to Promote Smoking Cessation: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial

Adherence to medication and counseling are strong predictors of smoking cessation success. To provide these two components of care, healthcare providers typically provide people who smoke with prescriptions for cessation medications, and refer them to state-sponsored tobacco quitlines. However, most people who smoke that are referred to quitlines never actually enroll, and those who do enroll participate in very few sessions. Similarly, most people who smoke that receive prescriptions for cessation medications rarely fill or use them, even when they have no co-pay or pre-authorization requirements. To address this problem we will recruit 40 patients for a pilot 2-arm effectiveness trial. We will recruit patients from the University of Kansas Medical Center. Participants will then be randomized either to control or Health Reward. All participants will receive 12 weeks of varenicline and referrals to their state tobacco quitline (Control condition). In Health rewards arm, participants will additionally receive CM for medication (MedCM) and for counseling (CounsCM). The use of medication will be tracked using an electronic pill dispenser (Wisepill). All participants will be contacted for follow up 3, 6 and 12 weeks after starting the treatment. Feasibility data will include recruitment and retention rates. Preliminary effectiveness outcomes will include treatment engagement and cessation rates.

Inclusion Criteria: * Smoked in the past 30 days * Smoke at least 1 cigarette per day when they smoke * ≥ 18 years old * Kansas resident * Speak/read English * Access to a mobile phone * Mobile phone receives text messages * No varenicline contraindications (no acute renal impairment) * Have no significant co-morbidity (i.e., life-threatening illness, communication barriers or altered mental status) * Cognitively able to participate * Physically able to participate * Not pregnant/breastfeeding Exclusion Criteria: * Medically ineligible for varenicline * Patient on smoking cessation medication within 2 weeks of admission date * Patient already talked to quitline in the past 2 weeks. * Patients participating in other quit smoking program or research study