Intention to quit Vaping among United States adolescents.

Introduction:
This text summarizes a study examining the interest in quitting vaping among adolescents in the United States. The study estimates the prevalence of interest in quitting and past e-cigarette quit attempts among US adolescents who vape, with a focus on subgroups that experience tobacco-related health disparities. The study aims to provide insights that could guide the development of targeted treatment programs for specific subgroups.

Key Points:

* The study used data from wave 4 of the Population assessment on Tobacco and health (PaTh) study, a nationally representative, longitudinal survey conducted in the United States.
* The study focused on adolescents aged 12 to 17 years who had vaped more than once in their lifetime and at least once in the past 30 days.
* The study report includes two questions: (1) are you seriously thinking about quitting electronic nicotine products? and (2) have you tried to completely stop using electronic nicotine products within the past 12 months?
* The study found that approximately 44.5% of adolescents who vape are seriously thinking about quitting, and 24.9% had tried to quit vaping completely within the past year.
* Motivation to quit and incidence of quit attempts were largely consistent across demographic and smoking history subgroups.
* The study suggests that vaping cessation interventions are urgently needed and should be widely disseminated, including those with and without demographic and mental health risk factors.
* For those not interested in quitting, public education campaigns and interventions to increase motivation to quit may be most useful.

Main Message:
The study highlights the urgent need for vaping cessation interventions for adolescents who vape, with a significant proportion of them seriously considering quitting and having tried to quit in the past year. The consistent motivation to quit and incidence of quit attempts across demographic and smoking history subgroups suggest that vaping cessation interventions should be widely disseminated, including those with and without demographic and mental health risk factors. The development and dissemination of vaping cessation interventions could be critical to curbing the vaping epidemic and reducing tobacco-related health disparities among adolescents.

Smith TT, Nahhas GJ, Carpenter MJ, et al. Intention to quit Vaping among United States adolescents. JaMa pediatrics. 2021;175(1):97-99. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.2348