Contingent payment for carbon monoxide reduction: Effects of pay amount

This study evaluated the efficacy of and provided parametric information about contingent reinforcement procedures with potential application in the treatment of tobacco dependence. Hired regular smokers randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions were offered $0, $1, $5 or $10 per day for reducing their afternoon CO levels to 50% or less of preintervention baseline values. Carbon monoxide levels and self-report measures of smoking were reduced during contingent reinforcement and returned to baseline upon withdrawal of the intervention. The average amount of behavior change was directly related to the amount of money offered for CO reduction. As pay amount increased, the percentage of occasions on which subjects met CO reduction targets increased. When CO targets were met, subjects typically smoked 4-6 daytime cigarettes and abstained for about 5 hours prior to the afternoon CO measurement. Little change in smoking was seen on occasions when targets were not met, and no compensatory increases in evening smoking were ever apparent.