Nearly Half of Teen Vapers Have Recently Tried to Quit

 

• About half of teen vapers said they had tried to quit in the past year, and about a third wanted to try quitting in the next 6 months.
• The most common nicotine cessation tools used in these attempts were apps.
• No nicotine replacement therapy is approved for youth, but the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends considering off-label use for some adolescents.

Teens who used electronic cigarettes often tried to quit and many intend to try to do so, a nationally representative study showed.

Of 15- to 17-year-olds who vaped on a roughly daily basis, approximately 50% reported attempting to quit in the past year and approximately 34% said they intended to quit in the next 6 months, Brian Williams, MD, and Jesse Kaye, PhD, both of the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention in Madison, reported in a research letter in JAMA Pediatricsopens in a new tab or window.

"Overall, given the high percentages of adolescents who vape and have intentions to quit, there remains a timely need to continue to identify and disseminate effective treatments that are appealing to youth," they concluded.

While teen use of e-cigarettes has declinedopens in a new tab or window to under 6% after peaking in 2019, these nicotine-delivery devices still represent the most common tobacco products used by U.S. adolescents, predominantly with flavored products, especially fruity ones.

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelinesopens in a new tab or window note that tobacco and nicotine use almost always starts in childhood or adolescence, with potentially lasting effects on brain development, among other health impacts. While no nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is approved for use in people under 18 years of age, the AAP recommends that clinicians consider using it off-label for adolescents with moderate to severe tobacco dependence, based on adult data.

A vaping cessation trialopens in a new tab or window showed that adolescent e-cigarette users enrolled in a free text-message-based vaping-cessation program were 35% more likely to quit 7 months later. And recently, varenicline -- in addition to that text-messaging program -- proved its mettle in those ages 16 to 25 in a double-blind, randomized trialopens in a new tab or window. Among these youth who vaped daily or near daily but had interest in quitting, the varenicline users had much higher continuous abstinence rates in the last month of treatment (51% vs 14%) and at 6-month follow-up (28% vs 7%) compared with placebo atop the behavioral counseling.

However, like in adults -- where less than a third of those attempting to quit use FDA-approved cessation medications or behavior counseling to support them -- use of these strategies was low among the teens studied by Williams and Kaye.

In the cross-sectional study of annual or biennial data from 2016-2023 in the nationally representative Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study, 36% of the 15- to 17-year-olds studied vaped daily or near daily.

The proportion who reported having tried to quit in the prior 12 months climbed from 23% in the data centered on 2017 to 51% in March-November 2021, and was nearly 48% in January 2022-April 2023.

Their unsuccessful quit attempts most frequently included use of an app (16.0% in the most recent wave of assessment). Only 4.2% tried NRT and 2.0% tried a prescription cessation medication in the most recent data.

"It will be important to monitor whether the recent [trial] data will change trends in varenicline use," Williams and Kaye wrote.

Limitations included that the study analyzed data only about individuals who currently vaped and quit methods were not assessed for those who had been successful.

In addition, the pharmacotherapy questions didn't specify whether the medication was used to quit vaping or had been used for other indications, like depression in the case of bupropion; thus, the use rates presented may overestimate use, the researchers cautioned.

Disclosures

Williams reported receiving grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse during the conduct of the study.

Kaye disclosed contracts with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services during the conduct of the study.

Primary Source

JAMA Pediatrics

Source Reference: opens in a new tab or windowWilliams BS, Kaye JT "Vaping cessation methods used by adolescents" JAMA Pediatr 2025; DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.1974.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/pulmonology/smoking/116408