Despite being marketed as a safer alternative to traditional smoking, e-cigarettes still pose serious health risks, including nicotine addiction, exposure to carcinogens and heavy metals, and respiratory issues like pneumonia.
A new study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital has revealed that an FDA-approved anti-smoking drug, varenicline, may significantly improve the chances of teens and young adults quitting e-cigarettes.
Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the clinical trial involved 261 participants aged 16 to 25, randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. The first group received varenicline alongside weekly behavioral counseling and support via the free text service “This Is Quitting.” The second group took a placebo with the same support, while the third relied solely on the text-based service.
After 12 weeks, 51% of participants taking varenicline had quit vaping, compared to 14% in the placebo group and just 6% in the text-only group. Even at the 24-week follow-up, varenicline users were four to seven times more likely to have successfully quit.
“These results underscore the potential of medication to help young people break nicotine addiction,” said lead author Dr. Aidan Ivins. “This is the first study targeting this age group, which is especially vulnerable to long-term addiction.”
Dr. Randi Schuster, co-author and director of the Center for School Behavioral Health, added, “Varenicline proved not only effective but also safe for this population. Encouragingly, none of the participants who quit vaping switched to smoking cigarettes.”
The study offers new hope for combating the growing public health challenge of youth vaping.
