New UBCO study examines how e-cigarette users view quitting

Research from the University of British Columbia Okanagan shows that a gradual reduction in nicotine consumption is key when it comes to getting users to quit.

The study was recently published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, and has highlighted the implications that young Canadians are addicted to vapes and are having a hard time kicking the habit.

“Vaping has become a popular global phenomenon, with more than 40 million users worldwide,” says Dr. Laura Struik, assistant professor in the UBCO School of Nursing and lead researcher of the study.

“Despite this growth in popularity, many current vapers admit they want to quit, particularly young Canadians. In fact, over 60% of youth—ages 15 to 19—who vape reported trying to quit in the last year. Our study is the first to use the social media forum, Reddit, to find out how they are breaking this habit and how they can be best supported.”

Information was used from Reddit, where 1,228 public posts from 318 users on a “quit vaping” forum were analyzed. Categories were broken down into quitting methods, reasons for quitting, and barriers and facilitators to quitting.

“We chose social media to gather our data because this is where individuals, especially young people, the largest users of e-cigarettes, are sharing their experiences, including those about health,” says Dr. Struik.

Research showed that negative health experiences were the number one reason as to why people chose to quit. With symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, wheezing and poor sleep being the main complaints.

Vapers also reported intense withdrawal symptoms and dependence on nicotine, making it the top challenge that users faced when attempting to call it quits.

For those who pursued quitting, the study found that more than 65% of them said they preferred a gradual reduction approach. This involved tapering the nicotine concentration, followed by using different nicotine replacement therapies, such as patches and gum.

Dr. Struik also notes that cessation guidelines, including pharmacological and behavioural approaches, specific to e-cigarette are critical.

“Our research findings show that vaping and vapers are different than those who smoke tobacco. Therefore, the cessation approaches should also be unique.”

Read the full report on e-cigarettes from UBCO here.