Tobacco use  is among the top health issues affecting young people nationwide, with e-cigarettes the method used most. This year, 6% of middle and high school students report currently vaping. 

But by harnessing 21st century tools, public health professionals can combat this modern concern. At the Sunday APHA 2024 session “Communication and Tobacco Related Issues” presenters shared how they found success in using social media to combat vaping. 

Social media interventions are a promising approach to preventing vaping among young adults, said William Douglas Evans, a professor at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University.

“We found that among people who currently are doing some level of vaping at least once a month, they were less likely to report intending to vape in the following month if they received our content,” he said. 

Evans presented “Outcomes of a social media intervention on vaping intentions among young adults: Randomized controlled trial.” His research team recruited nearly 1,500 participants aged 18-24 who report current vape use. 

“The big goal is to figure out how best to design campaigns on digital platforms,” Evans said. “I always like to make the comparison (to) pharmaceuticals — you would never deliver a drug to the population without really knowing what the right dosage was.”

Researchers exposed participants to anti-vaping campaigns over 60 days at varying dose samples. After 60 days, people who reported current vape use at the beginning of the study were less likely to report vaping intentions. 

“We also found that they were more likely to have anti-vaping industry beliefs if they were current vapors and they got our content,” Evans said. “And we found that the more of our content they received, the bigger that effect was.”

Virtual cessation intervention

Social media-based chat groups have successfully helped teens and young adults quit vaping. An estimated 45% of teens who vape want to quit, said Brionna Zimmerman, an account supervisor at Rescue an agency that creates campaigns aimed at changing health behavior. 

Zimmerman presented “Instagram as a tool for treatment: Equitable teen and young adult cessation interventions for vaping, tobacco and marijuana.” The study analyzed the success of Quit the Hit, a cessation support group that educates young people about how to quit vaping through group chats on Instagram.

Zimmerman, who served as a moderator on online chat groups, said the program helps give young people the support they need to quit vaping.

“Our main goal is to increase the confidence in their quit journey,” Zimmerman said. “When they feel most confident in their quit journey, that’s when they’re most successful.”

Each group included 10-15 people over five weeks. Quit the Hit takes into account teen mental health challenges and includes both social support and guided solutions. 

“We meet them where they are on a platform they’re already at,” Zimmerman said. 

Among youth aged 13-18, the percentage of past 30-day vape use dropped from 100% at the start of the program to 20% 60 days after program completion. In young adults aged 18-29, past 30-day vape dropped from 99% to 47% after 60-day completion of the program.

Zimmerman shared a testimonial from a 19-year-old in Los Angeles: “The values made me feel like it was designed for me, simply because we are in control of when we want to quit, and this is a space to help you do that to the best of your ability with no judgment.” 

Photo by Antonio_Diaz, courtesy iStockphoto