A Smartphone Application (ACT on Vaping) for Vaping Cessation in Young Adults

ACT on Vaping: Digital Therapeutic for Young Adult Vaping Cessation

Almost one in ten young adults report current e-cigarette use, putting them at risk of developing nicotine addiction and long-term health effects of exposure to inhaled toxicants. Despite the need for effective treatments to help these young users quit, very few treatments targeting any type of tobacco use among young adults have been evaluated, particularly for young adults who vape and have unique treatment needs. To address these needs, this trial will evaluate a digital program for young adult e-cigarette users at all stages of readiness to quit called ACT on Vaping.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Nicotine Dependence; Nicotine Use Disorder; Nicotine Vaping; Vaping; Nicotine Addiction
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Survey Administration; Other: Text Message; Behavioral: Smartphone app

Detailed Description

OUTLINE:

Participants are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

ARM I: Participants use the ACT on Vaping smartphone app and text messaging program and receive incentivized text messages assessing their vaping status.

ARM II: Participants receive incentivized text messages check-ins assessing their vaping status.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 61
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Washington
    • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98109
      • Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18-30.
• Current weekly user of e-cigarette product(s).
• Owns an Android phone or iPhone.
• Has an email address.
• United States (US) resident, with a US mailing address.
• Willing to complete all study procedures.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Currently using other tobacco cessation treatments at the time of screening, including pharmacotherapy or behavioral support (note: use of these treatments is allowable during trial participation).
• Member of the same household as another research participant.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Arm I (Act on Vaping app); Participants receive supportive messages and use the ACT on Vaping smartphone app. They also receive incentivized text message check-ins assessing their vaping status.	Other: Survey Administration; Ancillary studies; Other: Text Message; Receive text messages; Other Names: SMS Text; Behavioral: Smartphone app; Use ACT on Vaping smartphone app; Other Names: ACT on Vaping
Active Comparator: Arm II (Incentivized text message check-ins); Participants receive incentivized text messages check-ins assessing their vaping status.	Other: Survey Administration; Ancillary studies; Other: Text Message; Receive text messages; Other Names: SMS Text

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Overall Treatment Satisfaction Rating	We calculated descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation) for the primary acceptability benchmark of overall satisfaction averaging at least 3.5 on a 1-5 Likert-type scale within the ACT on Vaping arm only. Overall satisfaction was assessed with a 5-point Likert-type item on the 3-month follow-up survey, with response options ranging from (1) "not at all" to (5) "very much." The ACT on Vaping benchmark average of 3.5 falls between ratings of 3="somewhat" and 4="mostly." Higher values are associated with a higher level of satisfaction.	At 3 months post-randomization
Change in Readiness to Quit	Will evaluate differences of Contemplation Ladder scores. The 1-item Contemplation Ladder, scores range from 0-10, was used to assess readiness to quit using e-cigarettes. The higher the score, the more ready the person is to make a change. The anchor for the cut-off score of 5, indicating high vs. low quit readiness, is "Think I should quit but not quite ready."	From baseline to 3 months post-randomization
Cotinine-confirmed 30-day Point Prevalence Abstinence From All Nicotine and Tobacco	Complete case, self-reported 30-day abstinence from all nicotine and tobacco products at 3 months, confirmed via saliva cotinine testing. Differences were evaluated descriptively.	At 3 months post-randomization
Percentage of Participants With a 24-hour Quit Attempt	Making a 24-hour quit attempt between baseline and 3-month follow-up was assessed via self-report at the 3-month follow-up survey. The percentage of participants with self-reported 24-hour quit attempts is evaluated descriptively.	At 3 months post-randomization

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
• Collaborators: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jaimee Heffner, Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 4, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 26, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): April 26, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 31, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 31, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): June 9, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 24, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 16, 2025
• Last Verified: June 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Tobacco Use Disorder
• Other Study ID Numbers: RG1122763; NCI-2022-10010 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program)); UG3DA057032 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No