A Breath of Knowledge: Overview of Current Adolescent E-cigarette Prevention and Cessation Programs

Adolescent use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has risen rapidly, which is concerning given the health effects of e-cigarettes and youth susceptibility to nicotine addiction. It is critical that efforts to educate, prevent, and reduce adolescent use of e-cigarettes are developed and evaluated. The purpose of this paper is to review available current prevention and cessation programs.

A web-based search of currently available e-cigarette prevention and cessation/treatment programs was conducted using Google in May of 2020. Programs were then reviewed on whether they included theory- and evidence-based practices of effective adolescent prevention and cessation programs. Eight prevention programs, seven cessation programs, and one program that addressed both prevention and cessation were identified and included in this review. Most prevention programs included the importance of understanding flavored e-cigarette products, addressed industry-targeted marketing, included social learning activities to develop refusal skills, delivered free-of-cost, available online, and explicitly stated their incorporation of theory. Five prevention programs and two cessation programs had empirically evaluated their e-cigarette-related components.

Although the programs reviewed largely incorporated theory and included key components known to be effective, there are some gaps in the programs' overall ability to prevent and stop adolescents from using e-cigarettes, such as lack of dedicated e-cigarette materials. More evidence-based tools, resources, and evaluations are needed to best inform adolescent e-cigarette cessation. Addressing the gaps that existing prevention and cessation programs present requires intervening at multiple systematic levels, conducting more rigorous program evaluations, and bolstering the availability of cessation programs.