BACKGROUND
Rates of e-cigarette use, or vaping, is greatest among young people. Despite the known harms of vaping among non-smoking youth, including nicotine dependence, there is a limited number of empirically tested vaping cessation interventions.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the feasibility of an app-based intervention for supporting youth vaping cessation and understanding the natural process of vaping cessation among youth
METHODS
This is a prospective just-in-time study evaluating the feasibility of an app-based intervention for supporting youth vaping cessation. Data were collected using online surveys. Youth ages 16-18 and young adults ages 19-29 were eligible to participate. Study participants were recruited from individuals who downloaded the Stop Vaping Challenge app between November 2, 2021 and May 10, 2022.
RESULTS
As of May 10, 2022, the app has 1,289 users. Of this, 431 users agreed to participate in the study and 248 completed the baseline survey questionnaire. The follow-up survey, initiated each time a user completed an abstinence challenge (or had a lapse), was completed 339 times by 163 unique participants. In terms of the feasibility of the Stop Vaping Challenge app in promoting vaping cessation through increased awareness of their vaping behaviours, 65% of the responses stated that they have or may have found their experience of the abstinence challenge helpful. Similarly, 60% of the responses stated they would try again with a new challenge within the day.
CONCLUSIONS
Results from this study demonstrated the feasibility of an app-based intervention in promoting youth vaping cessation through the concept of an abstinence challenge. These findings provide insight into the process of vaping cessation among youth and identify factors that can be incorporated into vaping cessation interventions.