Quitting Vaping: Strategies for Cessation

Key Points:

• E-cigarettes continue to remain the most commonly used tobacco product among youth

• Developing effective vaping cessation programs is crucial

E-cigarette products are still the most used tobacco product, reported to be used frequently by both middle and high school students. Given the unique harms linked with adolescent nicotine exposure, finding ways for students to quit vaping is critical.

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Quitting Vaping

Much attention, rightfully so, is placed on preventing vaping initiation among youth; however, it should not be forgotten that there is significant interest by adolescents to quit vaping. A study published examined the frequency of teens who vape and wish to quit. The researchers looked at data from the 2021 NYTS and found that 67.9% had tried to quit in the past year. In another study, 81% of adolescents had tried to quit vaping at least once in their lifetime.

Some common reasons cited in one study for wanting to quit vaping are:

• Health:  the largest proportion was related to general health concerns followed by current and future health.

• Financial costs: Just over 20% responded with a statement like “I don’t have enough money to feed my addiction.”

• Freedom from addiction: 16% cited this as a reason, connecting the concepts of financial cost and freedom from addiction.

• Social influence: About 10% cited concern about others’ impressions as a reason.
  

The researchers relied on responses from two age groups (13-17) and (18-24). Young adults were more likely than teens to report financial cost and freedom from addiction. These differences offer some insight into the ways that e-cigarette use impacts young users’ lives.

Maximizing Quitting

Examining ways adolescents have tried to quit, methods they are interested in using in the future and features they desire in vaping cessation programs may help with success. Some strategies include:

• Unassisted quitting: Otherwise known as “cold turkey.” In one study, this was the most prevalent method to quit vaping.

• Friend support:  Advice from a friend was the second most popular method for quitting in this same study.

• Nicotine replacements: Products such as the nicotine patch, gum or lozenge, or nicotine spray or inhaler were another popular method mentioned.

• Text messaging:  Results from a randomized clinical trial demonstrated that a tailored and interactive text message intervention was very effective.

• Emphasizing health impact:  Results from one study revealed youth wanted a cessation program to include education about the health effects of vaping.

• Rewards: Youth wanted rewards, such as cash or gift cards, for quitting.

• Confidentiality: Some youth want a program that ensures school personnel are not involved and suggested professional counselors outside the school network should run the program.

• Limited parental involvement: While most youth didn’t want parents involved in a program,

  some did express involving parents at a later point in the program may be beneficial.
  

The Bottom Line

Using a variety of smoking cessation tools and individualizing plans where possible are keys to help achieve long-lasting vaping cessation.

By The Zeptive Team

References:

1. Birdsey J, Cornelius M, Jamal A, et al. Tobacco Product Use Among U.S. Middle and High School

   Students — National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2023. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:1173–

   1182. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7244a1.
   

2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2023, November 2). Results from the Annual National Youth Tobacco Survey. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved from  https://www.fda.gov/tobacco- products/youth-and-tobacco/results-annual-national-youth-tobacco-survey
   

3. Emily Jones, Romano Endrighi, Daniel Weinstein, Alexis Jankowski, Lisa M. Quintiliani, Belinda Borrelli. Methods used to quit vaping among adolescents and associations with perceived risk, addiction, and socio-economic status. Addictive Behaviors. 2023; Volume 147. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306460323002307
   

4. Michael S. Amato, Mia M. Bottcher, Sarah Cha, Megan A. Jacobs, Jennifer L. Pearson, Amanda L. Graham. “It’s really addictive and I’m trapped:” A qualitative analysis of the reasons for quitting

   vaping among treatment-seeking young people. Addictive Behaviors. 2021; Volume

   112.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306460320307292?via%3Dihub
   

5. Graham AL, Amato MS, Cha S, Jacobs MA, Bottcher MM, Papandonatos GD. Effectiveness of a Vaping Cessation Text Message Program Among Young Adult e-Cigarette Users: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2021 Jul 1;181(7):923-930. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.1793. PMID: 33999133; PMCID: PMC8129897. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33999133/
   

6. Krysten Bold, Grace Kong, Dana Cavallo, Danielle Davis, Asti Jackson, Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin. School- based E-cigarette cessation programs: What do youth want? Addictive Behaviors. 2022. Volume 125 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S030646032100352X?via%3Dihub