Majority of young vapers worry about COVID-19 risk and want to quit

The coronavirus pandemic is motivating many young people who use e-cigarettes to quit vaping. Nearly two-thirds – 62% – of young vapers say they are more interested in quitting vaping now compared to before the coronavirus pandemic, with 57% saying they worry that their vaping puts them at risk of serious illness from coronavirus/COVID-19, according to a Truth Initiative survey.

With the coronavirus pandemic occurring at a time of record-high youth vaping in the United States, many, including the U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, have raised concerns about whether e-cigarette use could make young people more susceptible to the virus. While it is too soon to know the specific impacts of the virus on people who use e-cigarettes, there is growing evidence that vaping can harm lung and heart health overall.

More than half – 52% – of current young vapers surveyed say that the public health crisis has caused them to want to quit vaping and nearly half responded that the pandemic has prompted them to look for information about quitting or talk to someone about quitting.

Resources exist to help young people quit, including This is Quitting, a free and anonymous text message program from Truth Initiative. If you want to quit vaping or help a loved one quit now, we’ve compiled some of our top evidence-based resources that could help during this time.

Truth Initiative surveyed 1,457 people between 15 and 24 years old in April and 364 identified as current vapers.