A pilot feasibility study of a behavioral intervention for nicotine vaping cessation among young adults delivered via telehealth

Background: Nicotine vaping among youth has increased, warranting concern from tobacco control proponents. Many youth who vape indicate interest in quitting; however, few empirically supported vaping cessation interventions exist. This pilot feasibility study adapted an established behavioral intervention, contingency management (CM), delivered via telehealth to promote vaping cessation among young adults. Methods: Participants (N = 27; ages 17-21) vaping nicotine regularly were recruited via social media and digital advertisements from across the US (June 2020-January 2021). Participants were randomized at approximately 4:1 to CM or Monitoring control (22:5). CM was delivered through DynamiCare Health's smartphone app for 4 weeks, in which financial incentives were delivered contingent on abstinent cotinine samples after the quit day until the end of treatment (EOT; Days 7-28; 10 expected submissions). Control participants earned incentives for submitting cotinine, regardless of abstinence. Feasibility, acceptability, and abstinence was collected throughout treatment, at EOT, and at 1-month follow-up. Results: The majority of enrolled participants completed treatment (Monitoring: 5/5; CM: 20/22), and intervention components were rated favorably overall (> 80%). CM participants submitted 112/220 (55%) abstinent cotinine samples throughout the quit attempt, while the Monitoring group submitted 4/50 (8%) negative samples. There were no differences in abstinence between groups at EOT or follow-up. Conclusion: This pilot study of a telehealth-based youth vaping cessation intervention demonstrated preliminary feasibility and acceptability. These results suggest that CM for young adult vaping cessation, delivered remotely, is a promising direction for future work and fully powered trials are warranted to assess intervention efficacy.