There was a decrease in electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use in young adults at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. ENDS use has since returned to pre-pandemic levels for 18-20 year-olds and is even higher than pre-pandemic levels in 21–24 year-olds. In fact, over half of college students report lifetime ENDS use. Despite this rise, many young adults still voice an interest in quitting. There is not much research on ENDS cessation strategy or treatment. This study aimed to replicate prior research on readiness to quit ENDS use and report on utilization of ENDS cessation strategies, potential sociodemographic differences in willingness to stop, strategy utilization, and more in a college sample.
This study comprises 1563 undergraduate students from six universities that are between the ages of 18 and 24 years old. They were asked to complete an anonymous 60–to 90-minute online survey about health behaviors and substance use between September 2021 and April 2022. Participants’ lifetime history of ENDS and past 30-day ENDS use were measured to yield an ENDS frequency score. Readiness to quit and social demographics were also measured. Of the 787 apps related to vaping in Google Play or the Apple App Store, only eight were free and had some focus on ENDS cessation. Most apps encourage vaping.
This study showed that among past 30-day ENDS users, roughly 67% did express the desire to quit. Of the 738 students who reported a lifetime history of ENDS use, half had one or more previous attempts to stop. Most students supported “cold turkey” and/or replacing vaping with another activity. No differences in ENDS quit attempts were found among social demographics. Overall, this study showed that most college student ENDS users do have an interest in quitting, but there is limited uptake of evidence-based tools for tobacco cessation. This limited uptake leads to a lack of awareness of resources.
Takeaway: This study showed that most college student ENDS users do have an interested in quitting, but there is limited uptake of evidence-based tools for tobacco cessation leading to a lack of awareness of resources.