#7 - Want to Quit Vaping? Learn How from The Truth Initiative

I'm Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host, and today’s WELL source is Megan Jacobs from The Truth Initiative: Inspiring Tobacco Free Lives. Megan is the managing director of product for the Innovations Center at Truth Initiative.  She brings a user-centered approach to product design that is key to the quit-smoking and vaping programs that are used by hundreds of thousands of people who want to break free from addiction. In today’s show, Megan is going to talk about: Cessation programs for youth who want to quit smoking or vaping Support for the parents of youth who smoke or vape The difference between smoking and vaping, and the ways in which quit strategies differ The use of text messaging to reach youth who want to quit The power of engaging young people in creating quit messages Factors that make their cessation programs effective RESOURCES This is Quitting – first ever text-based quit program. Teens and young adults should text DITCHJUUL to 88709. Parents can text QUIT to (202) 899-7550 to sign up to receive text messages designed specifically for parents of vapers or visit BecomeAnEx at: https://www.becomeanex.org/helping-a-child-quit-vaping/ Details: https://truthinitiative.org/thisisquitting Results: https://truthinitiative.org/press/press-release/new-study-reveals-breakthrough-texting-program-aids-young-vapers-quitting Launched in January, to date more than 57,000 young people have enrolled in the program. Overview of the different challenges between quitting vaping and quitting smoking Cigarette-specific smoking programs don’t work because e-cigarette users don’t think of themselves as smokers.  They also have some different barriers to quitting: Unlike with cigarettes – most are using these products everywhere. For example, they are discrete and can be used in schools or public places with little notice. Users don’t experience the negative effects from cigarettes (like bad smells) that may prompt them to quit. Nicotine replacement products (like patches or gum) that make quitting more comfortable and increase your odds of success are over the counter for adults, but teens require a prescription and possibly also parental involvement. This adds another hurdle for teens trying to quit. Misconceptions of nicotine present in e-cigs among youth JUUL and other e-cigarette manufacturers keeping consumers in the dark has led to widespread misconceptions about e-cigarette products, especially among young people. A lot of young people have been fooled by JUUL. Nearly two-thirds — 63 percent — of JUUL users between 15 and 24 years old did not know that the product always contains nicotine, a Truth Initiative study published in Tobacco Control found. Press Release: JUUL e-cigarettes gain popularity among youth, but awareness of nicotine presence remains low Tested on Humans truth educational campaign vaping prevention campaign https://truthinitiative.org/press/press-release/truth-confronts-juul-and-other-e-cigarette-manufacturers-new-campaign-tested