VapingNCT07540780
Social Media Support Groups for Adolescent Vaping Cessation
A study testing Social Media Intervention in people with Vaping and Vaping Cessation, run by University of California, San Francisco at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The purpose of this study is to pilot test feasibility and acceptability of the Quit the Hit Toolkit, a social media-based nicotine vaping cessation program for adolescents and young adults, adapted for use in community settings. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 13 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Vaping, Vaping Cessation, Nicotine Dependence
- What is being tested?
- Social Media Intervention
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 60 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 15 Apr 2026to 31 Oct 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
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 13 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- English literacy
- Age between 13-21 years (group participants) or 18+ (coaches, peer mentors)
- Indicate they use social media "most" (>= 4) days per week (group participants)
- Have vaped at least once per week in the past 30 days (90 percent of participants) (group participants)
- Access to a computer or mobile phone with photo capability to verify abstinence from vaping (group participants)
- Indicate they are considering quitting or are interested in quitting with the next 6 months or within the next 30 days (group participants)
- Currently reside in California, Minnesota, Oklahoma, or South Carolina
Who cannot join
- No English literacy
- Age under 13 or over 21 (group participants) or under 18 (coaches, peer mentors)
- Insufficient social media use (3 or fewer days per week) (group participants)
- Have not vaped at least once per week in past 30 days (group participants)
- No access to computer or mobile phone with photo capability to verify abstinence from vaping (group participants)
- Not considering or interested in quitting vaping in the next 30 days or 6 months (group participants)
- Not a resident of California, Minnesota, Oklahoma, or South Carolina
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California, 94143
Sarah Rosen, BA, 415-502-0758, quitthehit@ucsf.edu
Pamela M Ling, MD, MPH
About this study
The purpose of this study is to pilot test feasibility and acceptability of the Quit the Hit Toolkit, a social media-based nicotine vaping cessation program for adolescents and young adults, adapted for use in community settings.
Read the detailed description
This is a single-arm pilot study testing training materials for the Quit the Hit Toolkit. Community-based coaches will be recruited then receive training on the intervention, then they will recruit and lead 5-week vaping cessation groups online.
- Conditions
- Vaping, Vaping Cessation, Nicotine Dependence
- Being tested
- Social Media Intervention
- Keywords
- single arm, pilot, intervention, vaping, adolescent, young adult
- Medical subject headings
- Vaping, Tobacco Use Disorder
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Social Media InterventionBehavioural
Social media based intervention using Instagram with up to 3 posts per day for 30 days
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Vaping Intervention | Experimental | Individuals will receive training on how to implement the vaping intervention (Quit the Hit Toolkit) in their own community settings. These individuals will serve as coaches and will recruit and facilitate vaping support groups on Instagram, where group participants will receive up to 3 Instagram posts per day for 30 days. Group coaches will work with a Cessation Counselor, Principal Investigator, Co-Investigators and a Pediatrician on demand if additional expertise or clinical advice is needed. Group participants will be educated about signs of nicotine dependence and if they express interest in pharmacotherapy will be encouraged to access this through their personal healthcare providers. The Instagram groups will provide educational and social support, troubleshooting and advice about nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) or other forms of treatment. Groups will also include trained peer mentors to provide additional support. Receives: Behavioral: Social Media Intervention |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Number of coaches who complete training and coach a vaping cessation group for 5 weeks
Participants will be trained to serve as group coaches, implementing the intervention ("Quit the Hit Toolkit") to help teens and young adults stop vaping. Coaches will complete training and each will recruit approximately 10 participants for a vaping cessation group for 5 weeks. Investigators will track the number of coaches who successfully complete both training, recruit participants, and coach the groups for 5 weeks.
Measured: 5 weeks
Secondary outcomes (3)
Number of participants recruited and enrolled in the pilot study
Coaches will work through their networks to recruit approximately 10 participants age 13-21 to participate in vaping cessation groups. The number of participants who qualify for the study on the study website, and the number who enroll in the study will be tracked.
Measured: From time that coaches complete training to pilot group kickoff not greater than 4 weeks
Number of participants who complete vaping cessation group over 5 weeks
The number of participants who remain in the vaping cessation groups and like, post, or otherwise respond to the intervention posts or texts over 5 weeks, and who complete the survey at the end of the intervention will be tracked.
Measured: From start of cessation groups to end of the intervention over 5 weeks.
Acceptability of training protocol and intervention procedures to coaches and participants measured by qualitative interviews
All coaches, peer mentors, and participants in the pilot intervention will be invited to participate in interviews or focus groups. Study investigators will solicit feedback on acceptability of the study procedures, training, recruitment, intervention experience, payment systems, and other engagement procedures.
Measured: Following the end of pilot groups over about 2 weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted20 Apr 2026
- Study start15 Apr 2026
- Primary completion30 Sep 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Oct 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (2)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for VapingStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of California, San FranciscoThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- 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
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 60 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, San Francisco
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Cancer Institute (NCI), Rescue Agency, HopeLab Foundation
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Pamela M Ling, MD, MPH, Principal investigator, University of California, San Francisco
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07540780
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 20204627
- Other IDs
- R01CA292971
- Status last verified
- Jul 2026
- First submitted
- 14 Apr 2026
- Last updated
- 17 Jul 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: This is limited qualitative pilot data that may not be able to be sufficiently deidentified to be ethically shared. Investigators' ability to successfully deidentify the data to protect participant privacy will dictate whether or not a de-identified dataset could be made available to other researchers.
Publications
Lyu JC, Olson SS, Ramo DE, Ling PM. Delivering vaping cessation interventions to adolescents and young adults on Instagram: protocol for a randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health. 2022 Dec 10;22(1):2311. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14606-7.
PubMed 36496358Ling PM, Lyu JC, Lisha NE, Nguyen N, Gribben V, Ramo DE. Social Media Support Groups for Youth Nicotine Vaping Cessation: An RCT. Am J Prev Med. 2026 Aug;71(2):108314. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2026.108314. Epub 2026 Feb 20.
PubMed 41724253
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 17 Jul 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Social Media Support Groups for Adolescent Vaping Cessation
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07540780
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 20204627
- Conditions
- Vaping, Vaping Cessation, Nicotine Dependence
- Keywords
- single arm, pilot, intervention, vaping, adolescent, young adult
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 60 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, San FranciscoUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Cancer Institute (NCI), Rescue Agency, HopeLab Foundation
- Study start
- 15 Apr 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Sep 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 31 Oct 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 20 Apr 2026 (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 purpose of this study is to pilot test feasibility and acceptability of the Quit the Hit Toolkit, a social media-based nicotine vaping cessation program for adolescents and young adults, adapted for use in community settings.
Detailed description
This is a single-arm pilot study testing training materials for the Quit the Hit Toolkit. Community-based coaches will be recruited then receive training on the intervention, then they will recruit and lead 5-week vaping cessation groups online.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Vaping Intervention | Experimental | Behavioral: Social Media InterventionIndividuals will receive training on how to implement the vaping intervention (Quit the Hit Toolkit) in their own community settings. These individuals will serve as coaches and will recruit and facilitate vaping support groups on Instagram, where group participants will receive up to 3 Instagram posts per day for 30 days. Group coaches will work with a Cessation Counselor, Principal Investigator, Co-Investigators and a Pediatrician on demand if additional expertise or clinical advice is needed. Group participants will be educated about signs of nicotine dependence and if they express interest in pharmacotherapy will be encouraged to access this through their personal healthcare providers. The Instagram groups will provide educational and social support, troubleshooting and advice about nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) or other forms of treatment. Groups will also include trained peer mentors to provide additional support. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 13 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (7 listed)
- English literacy
- Age between 13-21 years (group participants) or 18+ (coaches, peer mentors)
- Indicate they use social media "most" (>= 4) days per week (group participants)
- Have vaped at least once per week in the past 30 days (90 percent of participants) (group participants)
- Access to a computer or mobile phone with photo capability to verify abstinence from vaping (group participants)
Key exclusion criteria (7 listed)
- No English literacy
- Age under 13 or over 21 (group participants) or under 18 (coaches, peer mentors)
- Insufficient social media use (3 or fewer days per week) (group participants)
- Have not vaped at least once per week in past 30 days (group participants)
- No access to computer or mobile phone with photo capability to verify abstinence from vaping (group participants)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Social Media InterventionSocial media based intervention using Instagram with up to 3 posts per day for 30 days | Behavioural | Vaping Intervention |
Primary outcome
Number of coaches who complete training and coach a vaping cessation group for 5 weeks
Time frame: 5 weeks
Participants will be trained to serve as group coaches, implementing the intervention ("Quit the Hit Toolkit") to help teens and young adults stop vaping. Coaches will complete training and each will recruit approximately 10 participants for a vaping cessation group for 5 weeks. Investigators will track the number of coaches who successfully complete both training, recruit participants, and coach the groups for 5 weeks.
3 secondary outcomes
Number of participants recruited and enrolled in the pilot study
Time frame: From time that coaches complete training to pilot group kickoff not greater than 4 weeks
Number of participants who complete vaping cessation group over 5 weeks
Time frame: From start of cessation groups to end of the intervention over 5 weeks.
Acceptability of training protocol and intervention procedures to coaches and participants measured by qualitative interviews
Time frame: Following the end of pilot groups over about 2 weeks
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 17 Jul 2026.
- Background: PubMed 36496358Lyu JC, Olson SS, Ramo DE, Ling PM. Delivering vaping cessation interventions to adolescents and young adults on Instagram: protocol for a randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health. 2022 Dec 10;22(1):2311. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14606-7.
- Background: PubMed 41724253Ling PM, Lyu JC, Lisha NE, Nguyen N, Gribben V, Ramo DE. Social Media Support Groups for Youth Nicotine Vaping Cessation: An RCT. Am J Prev Med. 2026 Aug;71(2):108314. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2026.108314. Epub 2026 Feb 20.
- This is the pilot study websiteLink provided by the sponsor.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. This is limited qualitative pilot data that may not be able to be sufficiently deidentified to be ethically shared. Investigators' ability to successfully deidentify the data to protect participant privacy will dictate whether or not a de-identified dataset could be made available to other researchers.
Related trials for Vaping
RecruitingEarly Phase 1
Role of Inflammation in Vascular Phenotype Associated With E-cigarette Use
Electronic Cigarette Use, Endothelial Dysfunction
Recruiting
Developing an E-Cigarette Cessation Intervention for Hispanic/Latina(o) Youth in Florida: The BReATHE Study
Vaping Teens, Vaping Behaviors
Not yet recruiting
Flavored Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems to Lower Smoking and Exposure to Tobacco Toxicants Among Cigarette Smokers Interested in Quitting, REFLECT Trial
Tobacco Cessation, Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems
Recruiting
Circuit Breathing Exercise on Smoking Cessation Among Youth E-Cigarette Users
E Cigarette Use
Recruiting
A Behavioral Circuit Breathing Training Intervention on Smoking Cessation and Respiratory Function Among Youth Who Use E-cigarettes
E Cigarette Use
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.
Pamela M Ling, MD, MPH principal investigator
University of California, San Francisco
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Social Media Intervention in people with Vaping and Vaping Cessation, run by University of California, San Francisco 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 7 inclusion and 7 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: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 17 Jul 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?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Sarah Rosen, BA (415-502-0758, quitthehit@ucsf.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Number of coaches who complete training and coach a vaping cessation group for 5 weeks (time frame: 5 weeks). 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 NCT07540780, which also lists 2 linked publications.
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 17 Jul 2026.