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Contingency Management for Tobacco Use Disorder for People with Behavioral Health Conditions: A Guide for Planning, Assessing Readiness and Implementation

Author: Tyler Erath & Stephen Higgins

Date: February 2026

This guide provides practical information and key considerations for developing a Contingency Management (CM) intervention to address tobacco use among people with behavioral health conditions.   

This document outlines the general components of a CM intervention, considerations for implementing a CM program, and safeguards and other critical components necessary for building an evidence-based CM intervention for smoking cessation. Administrators and providers can use this resource as a planning tool and operational checklist to help make initial decisions on CM protocol design and identify funding, as well as review some consideration for implementation and sustaining a CM program to treat tobacco use disorder among individuals with mental health and substance use challenges.   

The guide includes six main sections: 

  • Section 1: Overview of Contingency Management  
  • Section 2: Core Components of a Contingency Management Approach  
  • Section 3: Planning a Contingency Management Program    
  • Section 4: Key Implementation Considerations   
  • Section 5: Tools to Get Your Contingency Management Program Started   
  • Section 6: Opportunities for Technical Assistance  
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