Personalized text messages help teens kick vaping habit

An age-tailored, interactive text message intervention appears to increase vaping cessation rates among adolescent e-cigarette users, according to a study.

The study included 1,503 current (past 30-day) e-cigarette users (50.6 female, 62.6 percent White, 76.2 percent vaped within 30 minutes of waking) aged 13–17 years (average 16.4 years) who were interested in quitting vaping within 30 days. The participants were recruited via social media ads.

The participants were randomly assigned to either undergo an automated, interactive text message program for vaping cessation that delivers cognitive and behavioural coping skills training and social support intervention (n=759) or to receive study retention text messages (control, n=744). Follow-up was conducted at 1 and 7 months after randomization.

The text message program was tailored to a user’s age. Participants who did not set a quit date received 4 weeks of messages focused on building skills and confidence, while those who set a quit date received messages that focused on the risks of vaping and benefits of quitting, exercises to build coping skills, and self-efficacy, encouragement, and support.

The 7-month follow-up rate was 70.8 percent. At 7 months, the rate of self-reported 30-day point-prevalence abstinence from vaping was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (37.8 percent vs 28.0 percent; relative risk, 1.35, 95 percent confidence interval, 1.17–1.57; p<0.001).

None of the baseline variables moderated the effect of the intervention on cessation rates. Furthermore, there was no evidence that adolescents who quit vaping transitioned to combustible tobacco products.