New research project: how vapes are impacting the science of quitting

Having spent years researching the science of quitting smoking cigarettes, Dr Blair Saunders, from the University’s Faculty of Health, is turning his attention towards vaping.

With more than 5.5 million people using vapes in the UK alone, and 60-70% of those people who use them looking to quit the habit, Dr Saunders wants to understand the success rates behind different types of motivation.

He has secured funding from the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) to follow the progress of 150 participants looking to quit vaping and another 150 trying to stop smoking cigarettes.

Dr Saunder’s will study the motivations behind quitting and compare success rates in both categories over a 12-week period, focusing on participants in the UK aged 18-33.

He said, “We know a lot about people who want to stop smoking and the success rates behind different types of motivations, but we want to understand more about what people want to achieve by stopping vaping.

“In smoking we know many people want to avoid long-term health issues, such as throat or lung cancer. In psychology we call those avoidance goals. People sometimes struggle to see progress for these goals, because it is difficult to track how much you have successfully avoided a negative health outcome that may not develop until years later.

“Another category of motivations are known as cure goals. Success here has a more immediate impact on your daily life. Shortly after stopping smoking, you might get less out of breath taking the stairs, have better smelling clothes, or have more money in the bank.

“We know that these types of shorter-term motivations predict success in people trying to quit smoking cigarettes, but we don’t know if they work for quitting vapes because the experience of using these products is quite different from combustible cigarettes.”

Dr Saunders hopes that by understanding the success rates of different types of motivations, tools can be developed to support quitters to think along the lines of these goals.

He added, “Lots of people want to quit on their own, without smoking aids or health intervention. We call this type of quitting unassisted cessation, and it might be particularly appealing to people because they value taking control over their own health behaviours.

“But if we can encourage people to reflect on their own motivations within certain boundaries that are revealed by this research, we could potentially increase their chances of quitting compared to doing it completely unassisted.”

RSE Research Awards 2026

The research project is one of 61 selected at RSE’s spring 2026 Research Awards open call.

In total, more than £661,000 will fund innovative research across a range of academic fields, from 14 Scottish universities and research institutes.

RSE Vice President, Research, Professor Anne Anderson OBE FRSE, said, “The RSE’s Research Awards Programme continues to be a cornerstone of Scotland’s thriving research community.

“I am confident that the recipients of these distinguished awards will push the boundaries of knowledge and create meaningful benefits for people across Scotland and beyond.

“On behalf of the Society, I extend warm congratulations to these exceptional researchers and their international collaborators, and I look forward to seeing the impact of their work.”