It’s common knowledge that smoking is bad for your health, yet 15% of Americans continue to smoke. It’s extremely addictive. According to Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System (PRAMS), 50% of participants continued to smoke during their pregnancy in Pennsylvania. Smoking not only increases the risk of miscarriage, but it can increase the chances of birth defects. Although the dangers of smoking are well known, tons of smokers have trouble breaking the habit.
It can be even more difficult for pregnant women to quit smoking. With the added stress of pregnancy, women are more likely to crave that additional cigarette. Furthermore, pregnant women may not want to take medication to help them quit. However, a 2014 study determined that financial incentives were extremely successful in helping pregnant women quit smoking. When using vouchers as an incentive, participants were twice as successful in quitting the habit. In an effort to achieve similar results, both Oregon and Wisconsin have instituted similar programs with stellar results.
Multiple studies have shown that financial incentives are a great way to promote healthy habit change. In a 2009 study, financial incentives increased overall fruit and vegetable consumption amongst children by 10%. In 2008, researchers found that participants were much more likely to reach their weight loss goals when offered financial incentives.
Financial Incentives and Employee Wellness
Supporting healthy habit change is the only way to maintain an effective corporate wellness program. While rewarding for health screenings may be nice, surveys imply that these actually have no impact on employee health! Promoting healthy habits is much more likely to have a positive impact and that’s why we focus so strongly on behavior change here at IncentFit.
Incentfit has tons of options to help employees break the smoking habit. Did you know that employees who begin exercising are twice as likely to quit smoking than those who don’t? We can also make it easy to reimburse staff for any smoking cessation products they might need. Ask us how!