Testing the Feasibility and Acceptability of Social Media and Digital Therapeutics to Decrease Vaping Behaviors

Summary

Use of vaping products (e.g., electronic nicotine delivery systems, e-cigarettes) has been increasing rapidly, particularly among teens and young adults. With limited information on the long-term effects of vaping products, health information about vaping has been somewhat unclear in regards to associated health risks. Teens and young adults may be reluctant to disclose their use of vaping products to parents or health providers and instead turn to social media to share and seek out information regarding vaping risks and cessation supports. Thus, our current proposal outlines the use of social media to identify teens and young adults socially networking about vaping, the use of an online chatbot screen to evaluate individual cessation support needs, and the use of a digital intervention system to support vaping cessation. The mobile intervention used in this study is based on a widely-used evidence-based mobile intervention for combustible smoking (i.e., quitSTART) and has been adapted for vaping and young adults to include an in-app chatbot to guide users to tailored content and to motivate and encourage their cessation efforts. We aim to integrate our social media recruitment and online screening approach to connect individuals with this mobile app intervention, and will conduct a randomized controlled trial to evaluate user engagement with and preliminary efficacy of the digital intervention on reducing vaping behaviors among teens and young adults.

Conditions

• Nicotine Vaping
• Nicotine Use Disorder

Interventions

DEVICE

quitSTART Mobile Application

Mobile application with educational content, motivational messages, self-monitoring, and tips for managing cravings to support vaping cessation among young adults.

BEHAVIORAL

Chatbot Feature in quitSTART Mobile Application

In-App chatbot feature emedded into quitSTART mobile application to motivate vaping cessation and support app navigation.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

  collaborator OTHER

• University of South Carolina

  collaborator OTHER

• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

  collaborator NIH

• Washington University School of Medicine

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

15 Years

Max Age

25 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-06-04

Primary Completion

2026-12-31

Completion

2027-03-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations