Truth Initiative is the largest independent tobacco-control non-profit in the US, best known for building This Is Quitting — the free SMS quit programme that has enrolled over 700,000 young people. In 2022 they released a parent-facing companion.
How to enrol
Text QUIT to 88709 from any US mobile number. You'll get a short intake (child's age, how long they've been vaping, your biggest concern), then daily messages for 8 weeks.
What the messages contain
- Week 1-2: conversation openers, what to say and not say, how to react if your teen admits vaping.
- Week 3-4: explainers on nicotine addiction and the teen brain you can share (or not).
- Week 5-6: what to do if your teen agrees to quit — connecting them to This Is Quitting, the paediatrician, or a school programme.
- Week 7-8: relapse support, boundary-setting, and staying regulated when the quit attempt is messy.
You can text KEYWORDS at any point:
- CRAVING — support for a teen's craving moment
- SLIP — how to respond if they vaped again
- STRESS — for you, when the whole thing gets overwhelming
- STOP — unenrol at any time
What the evidence shows
A 2023 randomised evaluation in JMIR (n=344 parents) showed the programme improved parent-reported communication quality with their teen and reduced parental stress at 3 months, versus a wait-list control. The programme is too new for long-term teen quit-outcome data, but the direction of travel is positive.
What it is not
- Not a monitoring tool. No data is collected on your teen.
- Not therapy. For clinical-level parent support (family therapy, a struggling teen), see a paediatrician.
- Not a replacement for the conversation. It is a scaffold for it. See our guide to talking to your teen about vaping.
Cost and privacy
Free. Standard message and data rates apply. Truth Initiative's privacy policy is public; no phone numbers are sold and no data on your teen is collected because none is asked for.
