Extending Contingency Management for Smoking Cessation to Patients With or At Risk for Cardiovascular Disease: A Preliminary Trial of a Home-Based Intervention

Cigarette smoking puts individuals with or at risk for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) in jeopardy of experiencing a major cardiovascular event. Contingency management (CM) for smoking cessation is an intervention wherein financial incentives are provided contingent on biochemically verified smoking abstinence. Conventional CM programs typically require frequent clinic visits for abstinence monitoring, a potential obstacle for patients with medical comorbidities who may face barriers to access. This preliminary study examined the feasibility and comparative efficacy of (a) usual care (UC; advice to quit smoking, self-help materials, quitline referral) versus (b) UC plus home-based CM for smoking cessation (UC + HBCM). HBCM entailed earning monetary-based vouchers contingent on self-reported 24-hr smoking abstinence biochemically verified by a breath carbon monoxide (CO) sample ≤6 ppm. Participants were 20 outpatients with a CVD diagnosis or qualifying CVD risk factor randomly assigned 1:1 to the two conditions. Intervention participants received 14 in-home abstinence visits over 6 weeks. Voucher monetary value started at $10 and escalated by $2.50 for each subsequent negative sample (maximum earnings: $367.50). Positive samples earned no vouchers and reset voucher value to $10, but two negative samples following a positive allowed participants to continue earning vouchers at the prereset value. Primary outcome was point-prevalence smoking abstinence at Week 6 assessment. More participants assigned to UC + HBCM than UC were smoking abstinent at that Week 6 assessment (90% vs. 30%), χ² (1, N = 20) = 7.5, p <.01. These results provide initial evidence that HBCM can effectively promote smoking abstinence in CVD outpatients.