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Feb 23, 2009 -- Money a motivator in kicking the smoking habit
A new study in The New England Journal of Medicine finds that people can be bribed to quit smoking.
Different groups of subjects were paid differing amounts of money by their employers -- the highest amount being $750 -- to stop smoking for 90 days. The result? Using money as an incentive makes people three times more likely to quit, and three times more likely to continue not smoking after 90 days.
Long ago when Clark was in the travel business, he used a similar tactic to help his employees give up smoking. The penny-pincher offered a warehouse club shopping spree of $200 if they could kick the habit for 90 days. That would be equivalent to $600 with inflation today.
Clark himself managed to quit smoking two packs a day back in the 1970s by using his own unique aversion strategy. Whenever he wanted a cigarette, he would smoke a giant cigar. Within a few days, he no longer had any cravings at all!
The consumer champ has now agreed to pay his HLN cameraman Jack $750 if he can stop smoking for 90 days. We'll let you know how it goes!
Unfortunately, Clark won't be able to answer any questions submitted via commenting. If you have a question, please try posting it to our message boards.
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What others are saying
SMOKING AND GASPING
...in Ohio, 2 packs of Marlboro is $3,000 annually. Now the AMA has clinically proven that smoke on clothing...actually damages the body when those clothes are taken home...that toxic smoke drifts off the clothes and into the air, and is absorbed into the lungs. Burning wood indoors and candles are equally toxic to the body.......the particulate clogs up lung passages, and causes many heart attacks.
paying smokers is just wrong
Smokers are already paid. They get smokers breaks at work. That is 2 hours pay for someone who takes 15 minutes out of every hour in an 8 hour day! They could pay themselves for quitting. At $25 a week for a carton of cigarettes that is $100 dollar a month savings! As a non smoker I should get paid more for not taking smoke breaks!
paid to not smoke
A few years ago, I offered my employees $100 to stop smoking with the agreement that if they started up again, they had to return the $100. It was all on the honor system, but we did have a pretty good response. I did have one employee return the $100 several years after he left our company. I'm glad you talked about this, because it has reminding me that I should do this again.
Stop it Clark! How is SCHIP going to be funded if people stop smoking?!
RE: Deathmobile
You would actually benefit from a co-worker quitting smoking: lower medical costs for that person=lower premiums (or no increases), which would directly benefit you. Maybe not $750 in the short term, but possibly more than that long term.
Clark AKA Big Govt.
Once again those who do right, by not smoking, get no $$. Bail out the smokers.
