# Project SMART: Social Media Anti-vaping Messages to Reduce ENDS Use Among Sexual and Gender Minority Teens

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2021 · $767,982

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY.
Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth, inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer are more
likely to initiate vaping and currently vape than non-SGM youth in the United States. Vaping significantly
increases the risks of initiating cigarette smoking and poly-tobacco use, and consequently tobacco-related
illnesses. Higher prevalence of vaping among SGM youth will therefore widen tobacco-related health
disparities later in life. anti-vaping campaigns designed for the general youth population may not fully address
SGM youths' underlying beliefs and attitudes toward vaping. There is a critical gap in research on evidence-
based and culturally tailored interventions to reduce vaping initiation in the SGM youth population. Our long-
term goal is to reduce tobacco use and tobacco-related health disparities among SGM populations. The
objective of Project SMART (Social Media Anti-vaping Messages to Reduce ENDS Use Among Sexual and
Gender Minority Teens) is to evaluate the effectiveness of an SGM-tailored social media intervention to
prevent vaping initiation among SGM youth ages 13-18 years. Our central hypothesis is that culturally tailored
anti-vaping social media messages will be more effective than non-tailored messages to prevent vaping
initiation among SGM youth. The scientific premise for this work is based on the principles of cultural tailoring
in health communication for vulnerable populations, the Health Equity Promotion Model, and the Message
Impact Framework. We are developing and evaluating a social media intervention because SGM youth have a
high rate of social media use and are more likely to go online for health information than non-SGM youth.
Social media, moreover, are increasingly used for health promotion to address health disparities and well-
being of SGM populations. Our specific aims are: 1) Explore salient beliefs and cultural tailoring preferences
related to vaping initiation among SGM youth to inform the development of social media anti-vaping messages,
2) Identify promising anti-vaping messages and cultural tailoring strategies to reduce vaping initiation among
SGM youth, and 3) Evaluate the effectiveness of repeated exposure to SGM-tailored anti-vaping social media
messages on subsequent vaping initiation among SGM youth. We are developing and evaluating a culturally
tailored social media intervention using qualitative research methods and survey experiments. We will conduct
rapid-cycle feedback with stakeholders including SGM organization leaders to provide input on the message
design, testing, and intervention implementation to ensure feasibility and acceptability of the intervention.
Impact: Findings will provide evidence for the comparative effectiveness of an SGM-tailored anti-vaping social
media intervention to reduce vaping initiation among SGM youth versus non-tailored messages. The study
findings and approach will inform efforts to reduce disparities in vaping among SGM and other vu...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10289975
- **Project number:** 1R01DA054236-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Andy SL Tan
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $767,982
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2026-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10289975

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10289975, Project SMART: Social Media Anti-vaping Messages to Reduce ENDS Use Among Sexual and Gender Minority Teens (1R01DA054236-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10289975. Licensed CC0.

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