Incentivized Smoking Cessation for Tobacco Treatment-Resistant Diabetics

Individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are at an increased risk of many cancers, though the causal link is not well understood. Continuing to smoke after a T2D diagnosis is also associated with accelerated progression of microvascular and macrovascular complications and an increased risk of death. Smoking cessation is recommended as a standard treatment for diabetes. However, both patients and providers are faced with other challenging lifestyle changes and disease management processes, which lead to greater difficulty in quitting.

Contingency management, or a method of providing financial incentives contingent upon positive behaviors, has shown promise for improving adherence to medication among diabetics and for improving smoking cessation in other populations. This approach could offer an innovative and scalable means of increasing abstinence in this group, ultimately reducing their risk of cancer. This is a multicenter pilot randomized controlled trial that will recruit participants in Oklahoma and in Strathclyde, Scotland.

This pilot study aims to test the feasibility of providing incentives to patients with T2D contingent on remote biochemical verification using a smartphone carbon monoxide (CO) monitor. The investigators will use an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) smartphone application and CO sensor to monitor urges to smoke, stressors, smoking behaviors, and to validate continuous abstinence throughout the intervention. Two different contingency management structures will be explored to investigate the length of time incentives need to be offered. Qualitative semi-structured interviews will be used to explore the patient and provider acceptability of an incentive-based cessation program, any unintended consequences and possible differences between UK and US health settings.

The results of this research will inform the feasibility of carrying out a randomized controlled trial of this intervention. The ultimate aim is to develop an effective intervention that could be scaled to the T2D population at large, which reduces cancer risk and improves disease outcomes among a high-risk group.