The study titled, “Effectiveness of a Quit Vaping Text Message Program in Promoting Abstinence Among Young Adult E-Cigarette Users: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial,” aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a text message quit vaping program (This is Quitting) in promoting abstinence from e-cigarettes among young adults.
The researchers will be looking at the “changes in self-efficacy, perceived social norms, and social support for quitting as hypothesized mediators of effectiveness; and examines if treatment effectiveness is moderated by gender, race, ethnicity, or sexual minority status.”
In total, 2600 young adult (aged 18-24 years) vapers in the United States will be recruited via web advertisements to participate in the study, and they will be randomized to “This is Quitting” or an assessment-only control situation. The primary outcome measure is 30-day vaping abstinence at 7 months post enrollment. Study recruitment began in December 2019, and was expected to be completed by Spring 2020.
Smoking cessation start up launches vaping support program
Meanwhile, another vaping cessation program has been made available by Carrot Inc., a digital health startup focused on smoking cessation. This vaping support program is first being made available to Carrot’s self-insured enterprise and health plan clients for their employees and members, then it will be open to consumers later this year. The service features customized content, in-app lessons, personal coaching from tobacco cessation experts, and community support.
“The alarm around the dangers of vaping has reignited awareness of how tobacco addiction challenges so many people in the US everyday,” said Carrot President and CCO, Busy Burr. “Smoking cessation solutions historically consist of telephone coaching or in-person classes, and haven’t adapted to the needs of American consumers. We changed all that with Pivot for people who smoke cigarettes, and now have moved quickly to develop a digital solution for vaping as well, so people can get the help they need when they need it, right at their fingertips.”
