Lung Health Benefits of E-cigarette Cessation: Recruiting now
Dr. Chris Carlsten and Dr. Laura Struik recently received a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Catalyst Grant on the health effects of vaping, titled the Lung Health Benefits of E-cigarette Cessation with support from community partners, Dr. Milan Khara, BC Ministry of Health and BC Lung Association. This study is being led by PhD Student Tina Afshar and it has received UBC Clinical Research Ethics Board approval (H20-02539). The research team is recruiting research participants following the requirements below.
Project Overview:
Young adults are vaping, not using e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool, and becoming addicted to nicotine. Currently there is good evidence that vaping alone causes lung and immune function damage. We also know that nicotine is highly addictive, and it is difficult for people to quit. Motivation for quitting is difficult to improve, but some smoking literature shows that giving people feedback on their personalized health can improve motivation. In this study we will ask participants to stop vaping for 72 hours and we will measure their lung and immune function and motivation for quitting vaping before and after. At the end of the 72 hrs we will show participants their personal results of lung function and see if that affects their motivation for quitting vaping. We hope that this study will inform the design of a randomized controlled trial for vaping cessation because evidence is needed for clinical guidelines to help with this challenge.
We are looking to recruit 30 participants for this research study. If you are interested please review the requirements and contact the study personnel by phone or email. The research team follows UBC COVID-19 related protocols, including wearing full PPE and sanitizing measures to minimize risk to participants and research staff.
Participant Requirements:
- Individuals between the ages of 19-35 years
- Use e-cigarette (aka vape) regularly (approximately 20 of the past 30 days)
- Not using vaping to help you quit smoking
- Do not regularly smoke regular cigarette, or smoke/vape marijuana
- Have not suffered from a respiratory illness in the past 4 weeks
Procedures include:
- 72 hours of e-cigarette cessation with nicotine gum to manage cravings
- Questionnaires related to nicotine dependence, vaping behaviour, motivation to quit, and coughing
- Cough monitoring
- Lung function measures
- Collection of nasal samples
- Interview
Total completion time will take approximately 3 months with 4 consecutive in-person visits to our facilities at the Vancouver General Hospital and 3 follow up phone or video calls. Participants will be compensated for their time.
If you are interested, please call (604) 875-5132 or email vape.study@ubc.ca
