At a time when youth vaping is on the rise and local health authorities are interested in finding interventions to reduce their use, Dr Manu Savani prepared an Evidence Brief for the Newham Public Health Team, which outlined the public health challenge of increasing vape usage among young people, and the evidence base for interventions to tackle the issue.
Summary:
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Youth vaping is on the rise. UK Government action has combined legal and regulatory measures (such as banning disposable vapes) with educational programmes through schools and Local Authorities.
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Behavioural and educational interventions show promise. Text messaging interventions can have significant and positive effects on youth vaping cessation. Tackling the marketing appeal of vape packaging might help prevent young people trying vapes. Perception of harms is a probable predictor of vaping abstinence and intention to quit.
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The evidence base is narrow and highly US-centric, with a relative shortage of evaluations of what works in the UK. Future research needs to generate more long-term data, more randomised control trials, cost effectiveness analysis, and more understanding of implementation fidelity and sustainability of interventions.
Cite: Savani, Manu (2025). Evidence Brief: Vaping Cessation for Young People. Brunel University of London. https://doi.org/10.17633/rd.brunel.30000883
Downoad the Evidence Brief here