Contingency Management for Smoking in Substance Abusers

Official Title: “Contingency Management for Smoking in Substance Abusers”

Patients (N=102) who meet diagnostic criteria for alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, or opiate abuse or dependence will meet with research staff on two days for quit preparation sessions (2 per day). These sessions include testing a breath sample for evidence of smoking twice each day (separated by at least 5 hours), counseling based on Public Health Service (PHS) guidelines for quitting smoking during the second session each day, and setting a quit date.

After these sessions, participants will be randomly assigned to one of two 4-week conditions: (a) standard care or (b) standard care plus prize CM for smoking abstinence with the opportunity to win prizes for submitting samples that meet smoking abstinence criteria (e.g., CO ≤ 6ppm; cotinine ≤ 30ng/mL). Nicotine withdrawal and related measures will be assessed throughout the intervention. Follow-up data will be collected through 6-months post-quit date.

Intervention(s) in this Clinical Trial

• Behavioral: Contingency Management
  • For 4 weeks starting on the quit date, daily brief (about 5 minutes) counseling based on public health service guidelines for quitting smoking is delivered. Expired carbon monoxide (CO) tests are conducted twice daily and urinary cotinine tests are conducted once each week. Participants earn the opportunity to win prizes for submitting samples that meet smoking abstinence criteria (e.g., CO ≤ 6ppm; cotinine ≤ 30ng/mL).
• Behavioral: Brief smoking cessation counseling
  • For 4 weeks starting on the quit date, daily brief (about 5 minutes) counseling based on public health service guidelines for quitting smoking. Expired carbon monoxide tests are conducted twice daily and urinary cotinine tests are conducted once each week.

Arms, Groups and Cohorts in this Clinical Trial

• Active Comparator: A
  • Brief counseling based on public health service guidelines.
• Experimental: B
  • Brief counseling based on public health service guidelines for quitting smoking plus prize-based contingency management

Primary Measures

• Cigarette smoking abstinence.
  • Time Frame: Daily through the 4-week intervention and at follow-up interviews 1, 2, 3, and 6 months following the quit date.
    Safety Issue?: No

Inclusion Criteria:

• current alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, or opiate abuse or dependence
• smoke ≥ 10 cigarettes per day
• expired CO > 8 ppm
• self-reported interest in quitting smoking,
• ≥ 18 years old
• willing to provide names, addresses and phone numbers of individuals to assist in locating the participant for follow-up evaluations,
• English speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

• currently receiving behavioral therapy or pharmacotherapy for smoking plan to use pharmacotherapy in this quit attempt
• serious, uncontrolled psychiatric illness (e.g., acute schizophrenia, suicide risk)
• cognitive impairment
• in recovery for pathological gambling

Gender Eligibility for this Clinical Trial: Both

Minimum Age for this Clinical Trial: 18 Years

Maximum Age for this Clinical Trial: N/A

Are Healthy Volunteers Accepted for this Clinical Trial?: No

Lead Investigator: University of Connecticut Health Center Other

Overall Clinical Trial Officials and Contacts

Sheila M Alessi, Ph.D. Principal Investigator University of Connecticut Health Center  

Information obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov on February 12, 2012

Link to the current ClinicalTrials.gov record. http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00683033

Study ID Number: 08-081-2

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00683033

Health Authority: United States: Institutional Review Board