Incentives for employee smoking cessation
Offering incentives for quitting smoking to your employees can be an effective means of increasing employee interest in quitting. Even small rewards or recognition, such as in a company newsletter, can help smokers succeed at cessation by providing a concrete goal.
Providing incentives...
 | ...gives employees a positive focus |
| ...reinforces motivation to quit |
| ...encourages participation in cessation programs |
| ...reinforces employees’ not smoking |
There are numerous advantages to providing incentives:
| They are easy to set up and operate |
| They are very flexible and adaptable |
| They can have significant behavioral impact |
| They can be designed for different departments and different levels |
| They can be linked to organizational goals and objective |
Some disadvantages of incentives also exist. For example,
| determining the best reward may be difficult, |
| employers can be outwitted by employees (“false” cessation), and |
| nonsmokers might feel slighted. |
The advantages and disadvantages of incentives highlight the need to carefully plan and implement incentive programs.
This page was last updated on May 19, 2003. Copyright © 2003 Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch, NC Department of Health and Human Services. All rights reserved. Click here for disclaimer.