Tracking Vaping Patterns in Daily Life

Automatic detection of vaping rate and patterning in the lab and the natural environment using Flexible, Robust Instrumentation of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (FRIENDS)

NIH-funded research State University of New York at Buffalo · NIH-11124611

This project is developing a small device to accurately measure how people use e-cigarettes in their everyday lives.

Quick facts

Grant typeR01 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionState University of New York at Buffalo NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Amherst, United States)
Project IDNIH-11124611 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

This project aims to create and test a small, easy-to-use device called FRIENDS that can attach to your e-cigarette. This device will quietly track how often and for how long you vape without changing your normal habits. Researchers will recruit 240 daily e-cigarette users to help test FRIENDS with various devices and user styles. The goal is to gather accurate information about real-world vaping behavior, which is currently hard to measure.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal candidates are daily users of electronic nicotine delivery systems (e-cigarettes) who use a variety of devices.

Not a fit: Patients who do not use e-cigarettes or are not interested in having their vaping patterns tracked would not directly benefit from participating in this specific research.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this technology could provide doctors and researchers with much better information about how people vape, leading to more effective ways to help people quit or understand the health effects.

How similar studies have performed: Current methods for tracking vaping behavior in natural settings are limited, making this approach novel in its non-obtrusive, objective measurement.

Where this research is happening

Amherst, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-09 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.