Friends Can Help When Teens Try to Quit Vaping

February 28, 2025

A substantial proportion of high school students who attempted to quit electronic cigarettes reported successful cessation with support from friends. Punitive measures and temporary loss of access to vapes were associated with continued use.

"Although many adolescents try to quit or cut back on vaping, efforts are needed to help support quitting. Our findings indicate that interventions should address co-use and encourage cessation of all tobacco products to promote public health,” the authors wrote.

The study was led by Krysten W. Bold, PhD, of the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. It was published online on February 20, 2025, in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Responses were obtained through retrospective recall and self-reported surveys without biochemical verification of tobacco use status. The generalizability of this study may have been limited by its local Connecticut sample. Researchers did not assess past dependence or vaping frequency prior to quitting attempts.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association. The authors reported no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.

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