New study: Text message quit-vaping program can help young people quit both nicotine and cannabis

Topic

Substance Use

Subtopic

Marijuana

RELATED MATERIALS

The link between cannabis and tobacco

A text message quit-vaping program designed to help young people quit nicotine – part of EX Program by Truth Initiative – can also help them cut cannabis use, according to a new study published in Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy.

The study, which is the first to demonstrate that interventions to help quit vaping nicotine can simultaneously reduce cannabis use among adolescents and young adults, shows that young people who used the interactive text message program were significantly more likely to quit both vaping nicotine and using cannabis compared to a control group.

EX Program, which includes the text message program analyzed in the study, is a free digital quitting resource developed by Truth Initiative with Mayo Clinic. EX Program offers users a personalized quit plan, text message support, advice and tips from Mayo Clinic, and the most established online community of quitters. EX Program has helped millions of people on their journeys to quit nicotine and can increase the odds of quitting by up to 40%.

Participants who received text message support were more likely to report dual abstinence

The study demonstrates compelling evidence that participants receiving text message support to quit vaping were more likely to achieve dual abstinence from both nicotine and cannabis at the seven-month study endpoint.

The study, published as secondary analyses from two large randomized controlled trials, analyzed data from 2,845 participants including 1,016 adolescents (ages 13–17) and 1,829 young adults (ages 18–24). 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.

The results reveal an important "spillover" effect, where targeting one substance can lead to beneficial changes in the use of other substances. This spillover may indicate that strategies learned for quitting one substance can be effectively applied to quit other substances. Additionally, both nicotine and cannabis share similar use contexts, can be used in the same devices (such as flavored vape pens), and involve common behavioral patterns.

However, among participants who reported using both nicotine and cannabis, a lower rate of quit success was reported compared with those who only vaped nicotine, indicating that young people who use both nicotine and cannabis may need additional, tailored support to successfully quit.

Cannabis use prevalence remains high among young adults

Among study participants, 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.

National surveys such as Monitoring the Future (MTF) show that while teen cannabis use has significantly dropped in the past decade, young adult cannabis use remains at an all-time high. This age group also reports a high prevalence of e-cigarette use and rising rates of oral nicotine pouch use.

Young people using both nicotine and cannabis should know how both substances interact, and the potential risks. Cannabis use negatively impacts the developing brain and shows concerning links to depression and earlier onset and worse symptoms of psychotic illness in those who are susceptible. People who use nicotine and cannabis are exposed to the negative health effects of both substances: nicotine is highly addictive and can also negatively impact the developing brain, and has also been shown to increase stress and intensify feelings of depression.

These concerns underscore the need for future research to better understand the patterns of substance use among teens and young adults. Free, digital quitting programs like EX Program, which is highly scalable, automated, and able to reach large numbers of people, may be increasingly important for helping people address nicotine and cannabis addiction.