Which vaping-prevention videos help teens and young adults most?
Official title: Understanding the impact of vaping prevention ads on adolescents and young adults
Funded at Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · NIH-11362775 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will find out which vaping-prevention video ads best help teens and young adults avoid or stop vaping.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2023 |
| Project end | December 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $591,911 |
| NIH project number | 5U54DA060049-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11362775 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are adolescents and young adults ages 13–20 who are susceptible to vaping or currently vape.
✕Less likely to help
People older than the study age range, those not at risk for vaping, or those uninterested in watching prevention videos are unlikely to benefit directly from participation.
What this research studies
You would watch short vaping-prevention videos and answer questions about what you saw and how it made you feel. The team will first analyze hundreds of existing ads to describe their features, then run an online experiment with 3,000 people ages 13–20 who are susceptible to or already using vaping products. Based on those results, they will choose five promising ads and five less-promising ads for a randomized test to see which ones reduce openness to vaping. All participation is done online and focuses on how the messages affect attitudes and intentions about vaping.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to more effective public health videos that help prevent teens and young adults from starting or continuing vaping.
How similar studies have gone: Research shows traditional smoking-prevention ads can reduce youth cigarette use, but vaping-specific ad science is newer and less proven.
Where this research is happening
-
Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Noar, Seth Michael — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Noar, Seth Michael
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How vaping prevention ads affect teens and young adults
A nationwide project looks at which vaping-prevention video ads work best for teens and young adults and how they might reduce vaping when shown online.
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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.