Interventions delivered in healthcare settings to promote vaping cessation in children and young people (under the age of 18 years): a scoping review
Melvin Hoo Chuin Shen, Melissa Mae Gabriel, Nathan Wilde, Louise Brennan, Rachel IsbaObjectives
To identify and map interventions delivered in healthcare settings to promote vaping cessation among children and young people (CYP) under 18 years.
Design
Scoping review conducted in accordance with Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology and reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The review protocol was preregistered and published in BMJ Open .
Data sources
Five electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CINAHL), clinical trial registries and grey literature sources were searched from January 2004 to February 2026.
Eligibility criteria
Sources reporting cessation interventions for CYP under 18 years who currently vape, delivered by healthcare professionals within clinical or community healthcare settings. All study designs and grey literature were eligible.
Results
Eight sources were included: five reporting cessation or treatment interventions and three evaluating screening approaches all conducted in North America. All five cessation interventions used multicomponent approaches combining behavioural and pharmacological elements. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) was used in four sources. Quit rates ranged from 16.7% to 37%, with considerable variation in how ‘abstinence’ was defined and measured and limited use of biochemical verification. Uptake of cessation support was consistently low across sources. Vaping-specific language and adapted screening tools consistently improved clinical capture rates.
Conclusions
Healthcare-based vaping cessation for under-18s is at an early stage of development. No included study tested a structured multicomponent cessation pathway within routine clinical encounters, and no pharmacotherapy trials have been conducted specifically in under-18s. Adequately powered trials recruiting under-18s, prospective evaluation of clinical pathways and research within different healthcare systems are urgently needed.