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THURSDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDayNews) -- Smokers who give up cigarettes are being rewarded with shopping vouchers as part of a small University of Florida clinical trial.

Here's the way it works: Smokers have to prove they're clean by passing home-based breath tests linked to their personal computers. In return, they receive vouchers to buy products online at more than 20 retailers, including Target and Blockbuster.

Vouchers have been used in previous smoking-cessation programs. But this two-year study is the first to use home-based video monitoring systems to measure results and verify the identity of the person taking the breath test.

This voucher approach is "a powerful incentive because it provides immediate results. Smokers don't have to wait years and years to experience the benefits of quitting," researcher and psychology professor Jesse Dallery says in a prepared statement.

The clinical trial includes three people and began six months ago. So far, one man has kicked the habit entirely. Another man, who started smoking at age 7 and has smoked more than 30 cigarettes a day for 15 years, has reduced his smoking by 75 percent. The third person has halved the number of cigarettes he smokes.

"We would say they are tobacco-free if they are abstinent for about two weeks. This is a key period," Dallery says.

More information

Here's where you can learn more about how to quit smoking.

(SOURCE: University of Florida, news release, January 2004)

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