Skip to main content
UMass Collegiate M The University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Visit
  • Apply
  • Give
  • Search UMass.edu
School of Public Health & Health Sciences School of Public Health & Health Sciences

Main navigation

  • Academics

    Academic programs

    BiostatisticsCommunity Health EducationEnvironmental Health SciencesEpidemiologyHealth Policy and ManagementKinesiologyNutritionProfessional ProgramsPublic Health SciencesSpeech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
    Graduate AdmissionsUMass AdmissionsFinancial aid and scholarshipsFaculty directoryCourses
  • Research
    Center for Community Health Equity ResearchCenter for Program EvaluationInstitute for Global Health
    Research news and highlightsResearch areasResearch centers and institutesResearch Administration Office (RAO)
  • Campus & Outreach
    Academic Dean & Office of Academic SuccessCenter for Language, Speech, and HearingOffice of Career PlanningOffice of Public Health Practice and OutreachSupport SPHHS
  • About
    AccreditationDiversity, Equity and InclusionNewsEventsDirectory
    Resources for current studentsResources for faculty & staffVisit usContact usSenior Recognition Ceremony

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. News

New Study Uncovers the Best Ways to Quit Vaping

January 9, 2025 Research

Content

Jamie Hartmann-Boyce
Jamie Hartmann-Boyce

A new study co-led by Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, assistant professor of health policy and management, set out to identify the most effective strategies for helping people quit vaping. The findings, published recently in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, suggest that varenicline, a prescription medication often used to help people stop smoking, and text message-based interventions can help people quit.  

Nicotine vapes, also known as electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes, are handheld devices that heat a liquid containing nicotine and flavors into a vapor that users inhale. Unlike traditional cigarettes, nicotine vapes do not burn tobacco, meaning they expose users to fewer harmful substances. However, vaping still carries risks and is more harmful than not vaping at all. 

“This is an area of research that is in its infancy, but is growing rapidly and organically from people who vape asking about help to quit vaping,” says Hartmann-Boyce, the study's senior author and a Cochrane editor. “We also know that people who use vaping as a way to transition away from smoking are often keen to know how they can safely transition away from vaping without relapsing to smoking, which is really important.”

Cochrane reviews have found “high certainty evidence” that e-cigarettes lead to better chances of quitting smoking than patches, gums, lozenges or other traditional nicotine replacement therapy.

Other individuals, particularly young people who have never smoked, begin vaping and may face health risks or develop a dependency on nicotine and wish to quit vaping.

In the quit-vaping review, the team of scientists, including co-lead authors Nicola Lindson and Ailsa Butler at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, pinpointed nine relevant randomized studies involving more than 5,000 participants. The researchers aimed to evaluate and assess the effectiveness of tools that have been tested to help individuals quit vaping.

“The interventions tested are similar to those that we know work for helping people quit smoking,” Hartmann-Boyce says. “We don’t know, however, that they necessarily help people quit vaping, and that’s why it’s important that we have these trials.”

The study found that programs designed to deliver support via text messages seem to be effective for young people aged 13 to 24. The prescription medication varenicline, commonly used to help people stop smoking, was potentially effective for adults trying to quit vaping. However, due to the limited number of studies, this evidence for both approaches was low certainty and, the researchers explain, needs to be investigated further. 

“With the results of our Cochrane review, healthcare professionals now have initial evidence for specific approaches they can recommend, particularly for younger people wanting to quit vaping,” Butler says. “However, we urgently need more research to explore these and other approaches.”

The text-message approach offers a mix of motivational content, as well as content around social norms and tips for ways to quit vaping. “I think it’s clear that this approach helps young people,” Hartmann-Boyce says. “The question is, is it going to help other populations?”

Hartmann-Boyce says more relevant studies are underway, and the issue will remain high priority with Cochrane. “This is a really early area of research,” she says. “This is a living, systematic review, and we’ll be searching for new evidence monthly and updating the review as it comes out, because we know that this research is evolving.”

Press release posted in Research for Faculty , Staff , Prospective students , Current students , and Public

Related programs

  • Health Policy and Management

Related departments

  • Health Promotion and Policy

Site footer

School of Public Health & Health Sciences
  • X
  • Find us on Facebook
  • Find us on YouTube
  • Find us on LinkedIn
  • Find us on Instagram
Address

Arnold House
715 North Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA 01003
United States

Academics

  • Explore our programs
  • Undergraduate
  • Graduate
  • Certificate
  • Post Baccalaureate

Research

  • Research News
  • Research Areas
  • Research Centers & Institutes

The School

  • About SPHHS
  • News
  • Events
  • Directory
  • Visit
  • Contact

Info for...

  • Current students
  • Faculty & staff

Global footer

  • ©2025 University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Site policies
  • Privacy
  • Non-discrimination notice
  • Accessibility
  • Terms of use