Publication: Put Your Money Where Your Butt Is : A Commitment Contract for Smoking Cessation
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Published
2009-07-01
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Date
2012-03-19
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Abstract
The authors designed and tested a voluntary commitment product to help smokers quit smoking. The product (CARES) offered smokers a savings account in which they deposit funds for six months, after which they take a urine test for nicotine and cotinine. If they pass, their money is returned; otherwise, their money is forfeited to charity. Eleven percent of smokers offered CARES tookup, and smokers randomly offered CARES were 3 percentage points more likely to pass the 6-month test than the control group. More importantly, this effect persisted in surprise tests at 12 months, indicating that CARES produced lasting smoking cessation.
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“Karlan, Dean; Giné, Xavier; Zinman, Jonathan. 2009. Put Your Money Where Your Butt Is : A Commitment Contract for Smoking Cessation. Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 4985. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4177 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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