When young adults do try to quit vaping nicotine, they generally aren’t using medications or formal programs to do so. This according to an analysis published by UW-CTRI researchers in JAMA Network Open.
Want free help? Go to LiveVapeFree.com or ask your doctor if varenicline is right for you to quit vaping.
The data came from wave 7 data of the PATH study collected between January 2022 and April 2023. The 855 participants who attempted to quit vaping were 18 to 24 years old.
Only 20 percent succeeded.
Nearly 30 percent said they spoke with friends or family for support to quit. Eleven percent substituted other nicotine products. About 10 percent used a program (usually via a smartphone or tablet), and only 1.7% used prescription medications.
What ARE They Using?
Lead author and UW-CTRI Researcher Dr. Brian Williams said the results are disappointing, since we know some interventions can help young people quit.
For example, the text program “This Is Quitting” was shown to increase quit rates among young adults by nearly 40 percent, compared to a control group, according to a 2021 randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Another separate JAMA paper showed impressive quit rates for young adults who tried varenicline to quit vaping.
If You Build It, Will They Come?
Given that we know some interventions work, but most young adults don’t use them, what are the reasons? Is it because young adults don’t realize they exist? Or is it because they’d rather just talk to friends or go cold turkey?
“I think that’s something we don’t know yet,” said Williams.
“Historically, young adults have been using established quit methods at lower rates than older adults. And we’re seeing that continuing with vaping cessation attempts. In an ideal world, we’d have strong evidence for specific methods that help young adults quit vaping. Then, we could really advertise those methods as effective.”
Williams is part of a group at UW-CTRI using funding from the JUUL vaping settlement to create a one-time brief intervention for young adults that may incorporate short videos and interactive technology.
He said more research is needed on how youth can quit vaping, and what they’ll actually be open to use.
“It’s an opportunity for innovation to say, once we know what’s effective, how can we make it as appealing as possible so young people will use it.”
Williams said it underscores the need for new clinical guidelines for how to help young adult patients to quit vaping nicotine.
For now, he said, as a pediatrician, he would usually recommend patients who want to quit vaping try nicotine-replacement medications along with some form of behavioral support first, since they’re safe and have few side effects. However, he also would include a conversation with them about varenicline.
Want free help? Go to LiveVapeFree.com or ask your doctor if varenicline is right for you to quit vaping.
UW-CTRI Researchers Dr. Michael Fiore and Dr. Wendy Slutske and Dr. Andrew Hyland from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center were co-authors.
Williams BS, Fiore MC, Hyland A, Slutske WS. (2025) Vaping Cessation Methods Used by Young Adults. JAMA Network Open. 8(5). Online May 29, 2025.