Larner College of Medicine

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Using a smartphone application developed by DynamiCare Health, participants submit videos of themselves completing salivary cotinine tests, which measure nicotine exposure. The system verifies smoking status and delivers money directly to a secure debit card.

News Medical Announces Grant to Higgins to Advance Smartphone-Based Smoking Cessation Treatment

Larner in the Media

Health & Medicine

June 29, 2026

By Office of Medical Communications

News Medical: Digital rewards program targets smoking cessation during pregnancy (JUN 29, 2026)

A new multi-phase federal award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse was granted to University of Vermont Distinguished Professor Stephen T. Higgins, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and director of the Vermont Center on Behavior and Health (VCBH) at the Larner College of Medicine, and collaborators to advance a smartphone-based treatment aimed at helping pregnant individuals quit smoking.

Read Larner News story about Dr. Higgins’s research award

Additional media coverage: Medical Economics, Respiratory Therapy, Rutland Herald, WCAX-TV