E-cigarette UseNCT06129123
An Online Intervention to Reduce E-cigarette Use and Susceptibility to Smoking in Young Adults
A study testing Live Free From E-cigarettes in people with E-cigarette Use, run by University of Southern California at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this intervention development and pilot clinical trial is to determine whether receiving the brief online intervention results in greater reductions in past 7-day e-cigarette use frequency and smoking susceptibility over an 8-week period compared to receiving the control condition in young adults who… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 24 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- E-cigarette Use
- What is being tested?
- Live Free From E-cigarettes
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 105 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Jul 2025to 23 Jan 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 24 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- be between the ages of 18 to 24
- be able to read English
- report vaping at least one day per week in the past month
- report no history of cigarette use at screening and baseline.
Who cannot join
- reporting severe mental health, illicit drug use, or alcohol use disorder
- currently receiving nicotine cessation services
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, 90089
About this study
Official title: Development of An Online, Theory-Based Intervention to Reduce E-cigarette Use and Susceptibility to Smoking in Young Adults: A Pilot Study
The goal of this intervention development and pilot clinical trial is to determine whether receiving the brief online intervention results in greater reductions in past 7-day e-cigarette use frequency and smoking susceptibility over an 8-week period compared to receiving the control condition in young adults who currently use e-cigarettes. Participants in the experimental condition will be asked to complete the 30-minute mobile-based program. Participants in the assessment-only control will be given the option to access the intervention after they complete their final survey at 8 weeks. All participants will complete our online surveys at baseline as well as 2-weeks, 4-weeks, and 8-weeks post-randomization. Researchers will compare outcomes among the intervention and control groups to determine the efficacy of the intervention.
- Conditions
- E-cigarette Use
- Being tested
- Live Free From E-cigarettes
- Medical subject headings
- Vaping
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Live Free From E-cigarettesBehavioural
This is a 30-minute online educational program that focuses on providing information about e-cigarette and smoking social norms, harms of e-cigarettes and cigarettes, and ways to quit or reduce using e-cigarettes.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Intervention | Experimental | Participants will be asked to complete a 30-minute intervention that is accessible on a mobile device, delivered via a webpage, and personalized to their individual vaping behavior and beliefs (based on the baseline surveys). The intervention will contain personalized normative feedback (PNF), Motivational Enhancement (ME), and education.
Participants will complete assessments at baseline as well as 2-weeks, 4-weeks, and 8-weeks post randomization. Receives: Behavioral: Live Free From E-cigarettes |
| Waitlist Control | No intervention | Participants will complete assessments at baseline as well as 2-weeks, 4-weeks, and 8-weeks post randomization. They will not receive the intervention during the active study phase, lasting 8 weeks. Participants will have the option to access the intervention once this active study phase is over. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
E-cigarette Use
Participants will report the number of (1) days they vaped, (2) times they picked up their device to vape per day, and (3) puffs they took before putting their vaping device away per day in the past 7 days and 30 days
Measured: 8 weeks
Smoking Susceptibility
4-item Expanded Susceptibility to Smoking Index (ESSI)
Measured: 8 weeks
Secondary outcomes (6)
Perceived harms and benefits of vaping
Using the 21-item Short Form Vaping Consequences Questionnaire (S-VSQ), participants will rate the likelihood that each consequence will occur when they vape.
Measured: 8 weeks
Perceived harms and benefits of smoking
Using the 21-item Short Form Smoking Consequences Questionnaire (S-SCQ), participants will rate the likelihood that each consequence will occur when they smoke.
Measured: 8 weeks
Motivation to vape
Participants will select which option best describes their interest in e-cigarette use: plan to stop (coded as 1), decrease (2), continue (3) or increase (4) vaping.
Measured: 8 weeks
Motivation to smoke
Participants will report if they plan to start smoking (yes/no).
Measured: 8 weeks
Quitting vaping self-efficacy
Participants rate their confidence about quitting vaping "someday" and "in the next 6 months" on a 5-point scale.
Measured: 8 weeks
Vaping quit attempts
During follow-up assessments, participants will report on the number of times they have stopped vaping for one day or longer because they were trying to quit vaping.
Measured: 8 weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted13 Nov 2023
- Study start1 Jul 2025
- Primary completion23 Jan 2026
- Study completion23 Jan 2026
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for E-cigarette UseStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 105 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Southern California
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Denise Tran, University of Southern California
- Investigators
- Denise D Tran, PhD, Principal investigator, University of Southern California
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06129123
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- UP-23-00005-AM001
- Status last verified
- May 2026
- First submitted
- 8 Nov 2023
- Last updated
- 1 Jun 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: No identifying participant information will be shared with other researchers. In the case where another researcher requests access to our data, we will de-identify our data set before sharing these data.
Publications
Tran DD, Davis JP, Buch K, Leventhal AM, Ewing SWF, Pedersen ER. A novel online vaping intervention and smoking prevention program for young adults who vape: protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2025 Apr 21;20(1):36. doi: 10.1186/s13722-025-00566-x.
PubMed 40259422
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 1 Jun 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Development of An Online, Theory-Based Intervention to Reduce E-cigarette Use and Susceptibility to Smoking in Young Adults: A Pilot Study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06129123
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- UP-23-00005-AM001
- Conditions
- E-cigarette Use
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 105 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 Jul 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 23 Jan 2026 (actual)
- Study completion
- 23 Jan 2026 (actual)
- First posted
- 13 Nov 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this intervention development and pilot clinical trial is to determine whether receiving the brief online intervention results in greater reductions in past 7-day e-cigarette use frequency and smoking susceptibility over an 8-week period compared to receiving the control condition in young adults who currently use e-cigarettes. Participants in the experimental condition will be asked to complete the 30-minute mobile-based program. Participants in the assessment-only control will be given the option to access the intervention after they complete their final survey at 8 weeks. All participants will complete our online surveys at baseline as well as 2-weeks, 4-weeks, and 8-weeks post-randomization. Researchers will compare outcomes among the intervention and control groups to determine the efficacy of the intervention.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Intervention | Experimental | Behavioral: Live Free From E-cigarettesParticipants will be asked to complete a 30-minute intervention that is accessible on a mobile device, delivered via a webpage, and personalized to their individual vaping behavior and beliefs (based on the baseline surveys). The intervention will contain personalized normative feedback (PNF), Motivational Enhancement (ME), and education. Participants will complete assessments at baseline as well as 2-weeks, 4-weeks, and 8-weeks post randomization. |
| Waitlist Control | No intervention | –Participants will complete assessments at baseline as well as 2-weeks, 4-weeks, and 8-weeks post randomization. They will not receive the intervention during the active study phase, lasting 8 weeks. Participants will have the option to access the intervention once this active study phase is over. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 24 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- be between the ages of 18 to 24
- be able to read English
- report vaping at least one day per week in the past month
- report no history of cigarette use at screening and baseline.
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- reporting severe mental health, illicit drug use, or alcohol use disorder
- currently receiving nicotine cessation services
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Live Free From E-cigarettesThis is a 30-minute online educational program that focuses on providing information about e-cigarette and smoking social norms, harms of e-cigarettes and cigarettes, and ways to quit or reduce using e-cigarettes. | Behavioural | Intervention |
Primary outcome
E-cigarette Use
Time frame: 8 weeks
Participants will report the number of (1) days they vaped, (2) times they picked up their device to vape per day, and (3) puffs they took before putting their vaping device away per day in the past 7 days and 30 days
Smoking Susceptibility
Time frame: 8 weeks
4-item Expanded Susceptibility to Smoking Index (ESSI)
6 secondary outcomes
Perceived harms and benefits of vaping
Time frame: 8 weeks
Perceived harms and benefits of smoking
Time frame: 8 weeks
Motivation to vape
Time frame: 8 weeks
Motivation to smoke
Time frame: 8 weeks
Quitting vaping self-efficacy
Time frame: 8 weeks
Vaping quit attempts
Time frame: 8 weeks
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 1 Jun 2026.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 40259422Tran DD, Davis JP, Buch K, Leventhal AM, Ewing SWF, Pedersen ER. A novel online vaping intervention and smoking prevention program for young adults who vape: protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2025 Apr 21;20(1):36. doi: 10.1186/s13722-025-00566-x.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. No identifying participant information will be shared with other researchers. In the case where another researcher requests access to our data, we will de-identify our data set before sharing these data.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Denise D Tran, PhD principal investigator
University of Southern California
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Live Free From E-cigarettes in people with E-cigarette Use, run by University of Southern California at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 1 Jun 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
E-cigarette Use (time frame: 8 weeks). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06129123, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 1 Jun 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 1 Nov 2026.