Groundbreaking Study Reveals Text Message Vaping Cessation Program Also Helps Young People Quit Cannabis

First study to demonstrate that interventions to help quit vaping nicotine can simultaneously reduce cannabis use among adolescents and young adults

A new study published in Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy today from Truth Initiative — the nation’s largest public health nonprofit dedicated to preventing youth and young adult nicotine addiction and empowering quitting for all — reveals that its text message vaping cessation program not only helps young people quit nicotine but also significantly reduces cannabis use. This groundbreaking research, published as secondary analyses from two large randomized controlled trials, demonstrates the potential for a "spillover” effect where targeting one substance can lead to beneficial changes in the use of other substances. The study also documented concerning prevalence rates of cannabis use among young people seeking vaping cessation support.

The text message intervention is part of EX Program, a free digital cessation resource from Truth Initiative developed in collaboration with Mayo Clinic. EX Program is tailored to meet the unique challenges faced by young people looking to break free from nicotine addiction. It offers evidence-based tools designed to support quitting through personalized quit plans, interactive text messages, and 24/7 access to the nation’s most established online quit community. EX Program, previously known as This is Quitting, has been proven effective in the first randomized clinical trials of nicotine vaping cessation among adolescents and young adults, and has helped millions on their journey to quit nicotine over nearly two decades.

Building on EX Program’s proven success in helping young people quit nicotine, this new research addresses a critical gap in the scientific literature. Few studies have examined concurrent nicotine and cannabis cessation, and no clinical practice guidelines exist for treating co-use among young people. These findings reveal that young people who received the interactive text message intervention were significantly more likely to achieve "dual abstinence" from both nicotine e-cigarettes and cannabis at seven months compared to those in the control group, even though the intervention did not specifically address cannabis.

Among adolescents, 38.5% of those receiving the text message intervention achieved dual abstinence from both nicotine e-cigarettes and cannabis compared to 25.0% in the control group — a 13.5% advantage. Among young adults, 17.9% of intervention participants achieved dual abstinence versus 13.3% in the control group, a 4.6% difference.

The study also found that 74.6% of adolescents and 59.2% of young adults reported past 30-day cannabis use at baseline — rates far exceeding national averages from population-based surveys. These are troubling trends given that youth cannabis use negatively impacts brain development and shows worrying links to depression and earlier onset and worse symptoms of psychotic illness in those who are susceptible. Young people who use nicotine and cannabis are exposed to negative health effects of both substances – nicotine is highly addictive and can also negatively impact developing brains – warranting continued surveillance of youth cannabis use.

"These findings reveal a powerful ripple effect: when we help young people quit vaping nicotine, we're often helping them reduce their cannabis use at the same time, even without explicitly targeting cannabis," said Dr. Amanda Graham, Chief Health Officer at Truth Initiative and lead author of the study. "This research suggests that substance use interventions may have broader benefits than we previously understood, potentially offering a more efficient approach to addressing the complex patterns of polysubstance use we see among young people today."

Age-related differences in treatment response were also uncovered: while adolescents had higher baseline cannabis use rates, they showed substantially greater reductions in cannabis use and higher dual abstinence rates compared to young adults, suggesting that younger populations may be more responsive to cessation interventions.

The researchers suggested several potential mechanisms for these spillover effects, including the shared use of similar vaping devices for both nicotine and cannabis, common behavioral triggers and contexts, and the application of general behavior change skills across different substances.

"The high rates of cannabis use we observed among young people seeking vaping cessation support -- nearly three-quarters of adolescents and six in ten young adults -- highlight that this population faces complex, interconnected substance use challenges," Graham added. "While it's encouraging that our nicotine-focused intervention had beneficial effects on cannabis use, these findings also underscore the need for future research to better understand how best to help young people who use multiple substances."

The research was conducted using data from two randomized controlled trials funded by Truth Initiative, with additional support from CVS Health Foundation for non-personnel expenses in the young adult trial.

For more information about Truth Initiative, please visit truthinitiative.org. For more information about EX Program, please visit truthinitiative.org/exprogram.

Teens and young adults can text EXPROGRAM to 88709 to receive free quit vaping support.