Tailored, Interactive Texts Boost Vaping Cessation Rates in Teens

TUESDAY, Aug. 13, 2024 (HealthDay News) — A tailored, interactive text message intervention can increase self-reported nicotine vaping cessation rates among adolescents, according to a study published online Aug. 7 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Amanda L. Graham, Ph.D., from the Truth Initiative in Washington, D.C., and colleagues evaluated the effectiveness of a text message program for nicotine vaping cessation among adolescents. The analysis included 759 U.S. adolescents (13 to 17 years) randomly assigned to receive an automated, interactive text message program for vaping cessation that delivered cognitive and behavioral coping skills training and social support, as well as 744 assigned to monthly assessments only. 

The researchers found that at the seven-month follow-up (70.8 percent), the point-prevalence abstinence rates were 37.8 percent among intervention participants and 28.0 percent among control participants (relative risk, 1.35). The treatment-outcome relationship was not mediated by any baseline variables. Among the adolescents who quit vaping, there was no evidence of transition to combustible tobacco products.

“Placing information about the intervention in clinics and waiting rooms may encourage intervention use among those who do not disclose their vaping,” the authors write. 

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