Within the prevention policy and associated measures to get people to stop, and young people not to start smoking at all, the rise of vaping is a setback. Especially since we learned that this variant of smoking, is at least as addictive and harmful. Banning is a solution being discussed, and some countries are already experimenting with it. However, forbidding young people something does not always have the desired effect. What they do “listen” to however, is their smartphone. And it’s exactly their “smartphone addiction,” according to a new study, that can help young people get off vaping.
The study, conducted at Ohio State University by researcher Liz Klein and her team, involved 500 people recruited through well-known social media channels, the “hangout” of many young people. Over three-quarters of the participants (80%) reported that they vape daily. As already cited, banning vaping, especially for the younger target group, is not necessarily effective. Therefore, Klein wanted to investigate whether they could use direct coaching to help young people get rid of their nicotine addiction.
Smartphone effective against vaping addiction
Klein's team developed a study in which participants were randomly assigned to one of four options: phone-only smoking cessation coaching; coaching plus nicotine replacement therapy by mail; coaching plus mHealth (a mobile intervention that provides texts, links to videos and other online education and support); or coaching, nicotine replacement and mHealth support.
The results, Klein says, were nothing short of astounding. All participants were required to complete at least one of two coaching sessions during the study. Three months after participating in the study, nearly half of all participants between the ages of 18 and 24 (45%) were found to have quit vaping.
“This study offers hope that young adult vapers want to quit and can be successful in breaking their nicotine addiction. This is such a vital group for disrupting that behavior at or before they enter more established adulthood,” said Liz Klein.
Stop line works!
Because of the unexpectedly high overall success rate, the researchers could not determine exactly which intervention worked best. The fact is that the results do bolster confidence that support through a stop line is a good option for young people who vape and want to quit. Based on their data, the researchers also suspect that nicotine replacement therapy for people who want to quit could increase the likelihood of successful quitting.
The researchers were surprised by the high quit rates and surprised to learn that most study participants would recommend calling the quit-smoking line. The team had assumed that younger people would be reluctant to talk to coaches on the phone and would prefer to send text messages.
“We want to know how to help young people not develop a lifelong addiction to nicotine and how to make sure they don't switch to cigarettes, which take such a high toll in terms of both mortality and morbidity. We are very pleased to see that this cessation approach worked so well in this group. In a follow-up study, we would like to determine how best to get young people who smoke both vaping and traditional cigarettes to quit,” Klein said.
Quitting smoking
Earlier efforts have also been made in the Netherlands to help young people quit smoking (and vaping). For example, the smartphone app Quiddy was launched in 2022. There, younger smokers who have difficulty quitting can get in touch with peers so they can help and motivate each other. The same year also saw the launch of a special website where young adults can go for honest, non-colored, information about the effects of smoking.
“Young adults know that smoking is bad for your health. There is no need to repeat this. But other topics, in their opinion, were very interesting and underexposed. So how do you successfully capitalize on that? The new Ikstopnu website for young adults provides information they find interesting,” said project leader Claire de Nerée tot Babberich at the time.
