Baseline quitting self-efficacy as a predictor of duration of vaping abstinence in a vaping cessation intervention

While there is considerable interest in vaping cessation interventions, limited research has investigated predictors of successful vaping cessation. Self-efficacy strongly predicts smoking cessation, but its role in vaping cessation remains understudied.

We conducted analyses from 389 participants who completed 488 quit challenges in total using the Stop Vaping Challenge mobile app between 2021 and April 2025. Baseline self-efficacy for quitting was measured on a 1-10 scale and treated as continuous , except for dichotomizing as low (1-5) or high (6-10) for Kaplan Meier plots and analyses. Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the relationship between baseline quitting self-efficacy in predicting time to vaping relapse, controlling for demographics, past quitting attempts, intention to quit, and mental health status.

Overall, 71.5% of challenges resulted in relapse. Participants with high baseline self-efficacy demonstrated significantly longer abstinence duration compared to those with low self-efficacy (median duration: 2.19 versus 0.68 days, p < 0.05). Higher self-efficacy was associated with reduced risk of vaping relapse (HR 0.94, 95% CI 0.89-0.98, p = 0.006). At 48 h and 7 days, those with lower self-efficacy were 21.6% and 17.6% more likely to relapse, respectively.

Baseline self-efficacy is a significant predictor of duration of proximal vaping abstinence in a short-term digital cessation intervention. Those with higher self-efficacy abstained an average 2 days longer than those with lower self-efficacy. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for strategies to enhance quitting self-efficacy in vaping cessation programs to improve effectiveness and support sustained quit vaping attempts.