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The trial, which was described in The New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, was the largest yet to test whether offering people financial incentives could lead to better health. It used theories about human decision making that have been developed in psychology and economics departments over several decades and put them into practice with more than 2,500 people who either worked at CVS Caremark, the country’s largest drugstore chain by sales, or were friends or relatives of those employees. (Tavernise, 5/13)

A new study finds that employer-based programs to help people stop smoking would work better if they tapped into highly motivating feelings — such as the fear of losing money. This conclusion flows from a study involving the employees of CVS/Caremark. Some workers got postcards asking them if they wanted a cash reward to quit smoking. One card ended up in the hands of Camelia Escarcega in Rialto, Calif., whose sister works for CVS. (Harris, 5/13)

We already know that the prospect of earning some cash helps people quit smoking. But a new study from the University of Pennsylvania found that the way cash rewards are structured can make a big difference in how well such programs work. People were far more likely to quit for six months if they had some skin in the game. The problem was getting them to invest some of their own money - they got it back if they stopped smoking - in a reward program. (Burling, 5/14)

Here's a new way to get people to quit smoking: pay them. A pilot program that tried this rewards-based approach worked unexpectedly well, researchers reported Wednesday. Offering such a reward may work especially well for employers who dish out thousands of dollars a year more in health insurance payouts to smokers than they spend on non-smokers, the researchers said. And it may pay to tailor the incentive. They found that a select group of people who agreed to put down a $150 "bet" that they could kick the habit were very motivated to quit. After a year, more than half of them were still not smoking, the researchers report in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Fox and Edwards, 5/13)