Veterans offered cash rewards to quit smoking before surgery in new mobile app trial
NCT ID NCT06678672
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Aug 12, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tests a mobile app and financial rewards to help veterans quit smoking before major elective surgery. Smoking increases the risk of complications after surgery, but quitting can be hard. The program uses a carbon monoxide monitor and app to verify abstinence, with incentives for staying smoke-free. The goal is to see if this approach is practical and engaging for veterans.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Contingency management (behavioral intervention with financial incentives and mobile app)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide an effective, convenient way to help veterans quit smoking before surgery, reducing complications and improving recovery.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small early feasibility study with only 36 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The intervention requires daily engagement, which may be challenging for some veterans.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
About 36 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Aug 2025
- Expected to finish
-
Jul 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
18 years and older
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * English-speaking; * Veteran enrolled in healthcare at SFVAHCS; * Veteran scheduled for major elective surgery within the next 6 months (including but not limited to: general, spinal, thoracic, vascular, urological, gynecological, orthopedic, gender affirming). Veterans, who are followed at SFVAHCS by Primary Care and are referred to outside institutions for major surgery (e.g., gynecological or gender-affirming surgeries) are also eligible to participate; * Current (past 30 days) cigarette smoking a minimum of 1 cigarette per day (average), assessed by Timeline Followback (TLFB); * Open to receiving smoking cessation interventions. Exclusion Criteria: Evaluated by investigative team medical record review and clinical assessment: - Psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, neurocognitive disorder, or other psychiatric or medical conditions judged by the PI to be unstable based on medical record review and/or screening results; * Untreated, current, active problem gambling, assessed by medical record diagnosis and/ or Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) score ≥ 8; * Enrollment in end of life/ palliative care; * Surgery with a clinical indication for cancer; * Unable to meet time commitment; * Currently pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the study (people of childbearing potential ages 18-55); * A suicide attempt or suicidal ideation with intent in the 30 days before enrollment; * Concurrent participation in another tobacco cessation trial.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Substance use disorder (SUD) are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
San Francisco VA Health Care System
RECRUITINGSan Francisco, California, 94121, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Texts and wearables team up to help latinos quit smoking and get moving
- Can a WhatsApp message help smokers quit?
- Ear stimulation may ease depression in addiction treatment
- Can a brain scan tailor TMS to quiet cigarette cravings?
- Training police to refer, not arrest, could curb Drug-Related harm
- Could a health Worker's support break the smoking habit in mental illness?