Social media support groups to help teens and young adults quit vaping

Social Media Support Groups for Adolescent Vaping Cessation

This pilot tries a social-media group program called the Quit the Hit Toolkit to help adolescents and young adults who vape stop using nicotine.

Quick facts

• Phase: NA
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 60 (estimated)
• Ages: 13 Years and up
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco (other)
• Locations: 1 site (San Francisco, California)
• Trial ID: NCT07540780 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

This is a single-arm pilot testing the feasibility and acceptability of the Quit the Hit Toolkit delivered through online social media groups. Community-based coaches are recruited and trained on the intervention, then they recruit and lead five-week vaping cessation groups for participants aged 13–21. Eligible participants must vape at least once per week, use social media most days, have a device with a camera to verify abstinence by photo, and reside in one of four states. The study focuses on training materials and implementation outcomes to inform larger controlled trials if the approach appears feasible and acceptable.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal candidates are 13–21-year-olds who vape at least once per week, use social media on most days, are considering quitting within six months, have a phone or computer with camera capability, and currently live in California, Minnesota, Oklahoma, or South Carolina.

Not a fit: Patients unlikely to benefit include those under 13 or over 21, those who do not use social media regularly, those not interested in quitting, people without a camera-equipped device to verify abstinence, or individuals living outside the four eligible states.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this could provide an accessible, peer-led online program that helps more adolescents quit vaping and reach youth outside traditional clinical settings.

How similar studies have performed: Prior studies of social-media and peer-support interventions for tobacco cessation have shown promising feasibility and engagement, but evidence specifically for adolescent vaping cessation and this particular toolkit remains limited and early.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

1. English literacy
2. Age between 13-21 years (group participants) or 18+ (coaches, peer mentors)
3. Indicate they use social media "most" (\>= 4) days per week (group participants)
4. Have vaped at least once per week in the past 30 days (90 percent of participants) (group participants)
5. Access to a computer or mobile phone with photo capability to verify abstinence from vaping (group participants)
6. Indicate they are considering quitting or are interested in quitting with the next 6 months or within the next 30 days (group participants)
7. Currently reside in California, Minnesota, Oklahoma, or South Carolina

Exclusion Criteria:

1. No English literacy
2. Age under 13 or over 21 (group participants) or under 18 (coaches, peer mentors)
3. Insufficient social media use (3 or fewer days per week) (group participants)
4. Have not vaped at least once per week in past 30 days (group participants)
5. No access to computer or mobile phone with photo capability to verify abstinence from vaping (group participants)
6. Not considering or interested in quitting vaping in the next 30 days or 6 months (group participants)
7. Not a resident of California, Minnesota, Oklahoma, or South Carolina

Where this trial is running

San Francisco, California

• University of California, San Francisco — San Francisco, California, United States (RECRUITING)

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Pamela M Ling, MD, MPH — University of California, San Francisco
• Study coordinator: Sarah Rosen, BA

Conditions: Vaping, Vaping Cessation, Nicotine Dependence, single arm, pilot, intervention, vaping, adolescent