How natural hormones and birth-control hormones affect vaping in young women
Official title: Effects of endogenous and exogenous ovarian hormones on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) Use
Funded at Miriam Hospital · NIH-11382209 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether natural menstrual cycle changes and hormonal birth control change vaping habits and cravings in young adult women who use e-cigarettes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Miriam Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Providence, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2025 |
| Project end | April 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $746,999 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DA061808-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11382209 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are young adult women (around ages 18–24) who regularly use e-cigarettes, including both those on hormonal birth control and those not using hormones.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not use e-cigarettes, men, or women who are not of reproductive age or on other non-hormonal treatments are unlikely to benefit directly from the findings.
What this research studies
If you join, you'll track your vaping and mood over several weeks while providing short phone-app surveys and wearing or carrying devices to log use. You'll have scheduled clinic visits for blood samples to measure hormones and nicotine metabolites like 3'-hydroxycotinine, and some participants will be compared based on whether they use hormonal birth control. The study compares vaping, cravings, and affect across different menstrual phases and between people on and off hormonal contraception. Results will be based on both real-time app data and lab biological markers.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help tailor vaping cessation approaches to women by timing or modifying treatments around hormonal changes.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research on combustible cigarette use shows hormone-related effects on nicotine use, but studies focused specifically on e-cigarettes are limited.
Where this research is happening
-
Miriam Hospital
Providence, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Vergara-Lopez, Chrystal — Miriam Hospital
- Study coordinator: Vergara-Lopez, Chrystal
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.