The Washington State Department of Health has announced a new smartphone app to help teens and young adults quit vaping.

Developed collaboratively with 2Morrow Inc., the app is available for free to Washingtonians at doh.wa.gov/quit and is accessible via smartphone, tablet, laptop and desktop computer.

“This app is a promising resource to help tackle the youth vaping epidemic in our state,” said Dr. Kathy Lofy, state health officer. “By making tools to quit accessible via smartphone and computer, our hope is that more young people feel empowered to quit vaping.”

The self-guided program includes ten short lessons, advanced messaging protocols and customized tips. Participants learn how to deal with unhelpful thoughts, urges and cravings, and practice moving toward their goal of reducing or quitting vaping. Along the way, they receive daily text-based messages and have the ability to track their progress.

Studies have shown that users of similar 2Morrow cessation programs are six times more likely to quit than those doing it on their own.

“Although we don’t yet understand all the health effects of vaping, we do know that nicotine is very addictive and that it can have negative effects on a maturing brain,” said Jo Masterson, chief product officer at 2Morrow. “Quitting nicotine is not easy. However, there are proven strategies that can help. We believe that using apps to deliver these programs will be more attractive to youth than traditional methods, increasing access and quit attempts.”

According to the Washington State Healthy Youth Survey, approximately 30 percent of high school seniors used vapor products in 2018. In a separate survey 2Morrow conducted, 87.5 percent of teen respondents reported they had considered quitting vaping, and of those, 71.4 percent feel that they will quit before they are 21 years old. However, many teens don’t perceive health risks from vaping, nor the difficulty of quitting once addicted.

To sign up for the app and find other quit programs, visit doh.wa.gov/quit.