Young people quitting nicotine get help from truth®

Thousands of young people, including creators, are driving a trend of sharing their stories about quitting nicotine on social media. As a group of creators document their quit journeys, truth is supporting them with free, proven-effective tools and resources.

Tobacco use remains a public health crisis among young people, with 11% of 18- to 24-year-olds vaping nicotine and 5.3% of 18- to 24-year-olds smoking cigarettes, according to the CDC’s National Health Interview Survey. Additionally, 4.3% of 18- to 24-year-olds use two or more tobacco products.

The “Quit Collective” – the group of creators who are at various stages of quitting nicotine and are documenting their journeys – includes actor Dom Gabriel, singer Bryana Salaz, skier Griffin Laszlo, dancer Nicky Delaney, and gymnast Evan Manivong, along with Ysabelle Wallace and Rheagan Coursey. Together, their posts on TikTok and other social media, using “#QuitCheck” (à la the trend “#FitCheck”), have received hundreds of thousands of organic views and underscore the message that no one should have to quit alone.

There are many reasons people want to quit vaping nicotine, including physical or mental health concerns, financial cost, freedom from addiction, and influence from friends, family, and others. In fact, Truth Initiative researchers have analyzed reasons for quitting and found that concerns about health and mental health, as well as social influence, are among the top reasons.

“I felt like I needed it, but honestly it made my anxiety 10 times worse,” said Ysabelle Wallace, who recently posted a TikTok video about relapsing during her journey to quit vaping and her plan to resume quitting with the help of a first-of-its-kind, free and anonymous text messaging program by truth designed to help young people quit vaping nicotine.

The program has become a resource for over 750,000 young people, incorporating messages from others in the same age group who have attempted to or successfully quit vaping nicotine. A randomized clinical trial found that young adults ages 18-24 who used the program had nearly 40% higher odds of quitting compared to a control group. A second analysis from that clinical trial data demonstrated that the program is not only successful in helping young people quit vaping nicotine, but also in helping them quit smoking cigarettes and ensuring that they don’t switch from vaping to smoking combustible tobacco products.

“Quitting vaping has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” said Bryana Salaz. “I wanted to use my platform and work with truth to start a conversation about my own experience using e-cigarettes and now quitting. I know that support is crucial when breaking an addiction and the quitting program from truth made me feel like I always had someone on my side. The program is easy and convenient, and the text messages kept me motivated and inspired throughout my quitting journey.”

Anyone interested in joining the Quit Collective can use the hashtag #QuitCheck or email [email protected].

For immediate help to quit, teens and young adults can text “DITCHVAPE” to 88709.