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NEW YORK (AP) — A new study suggests smokers have better luck quitting when they bet their own money on their success.
Smokers with $150 of their money at stake were far more likely to quit than smokers who didn't have to wager their money to get the cash rewards.
But here's the catch: Few people were willing to bet on themselves. Nearly everyone who was offered the rewards-only option, though, signed up for a stop smoking program.
The University of Pennsylvania researchers collaborated with CVS Health, the second largest U.S. drugstore operator, for the study of financial incentives. About 2,500 smokers took part — CVS employees, their friends or relatives.
The results are in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
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Online:
Journal: http://www.nejm.org
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APPHOTO NY377: FILE - In this Tuesday, June 3, 2008 file photo, an employee smokes a cigarette at a bar and restaurant in Harrisburg, Pa. In a study released Wednesday, May 13, 2015, smokers with $150 of their own money at stake were far more likely to quit than smokers who didn't have to wager their money to get cash rewards. "A bit of a stick was much better than pure carrot," said the study's lead author, Dr. Scott Halpern of the University of Pennsylvania. But here's the catch: Few people were willing to bet on themselves. Nearly everyone who was offered the rewards-only option, though, signed up for a stop smoking program. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (3 Jun 2008)
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