Helping Young Australians Quit Vaping – Every Step of the Way

Young adulthood is a critical period for establishing habits – healthy and unhealthy – that can last a lifetime. Exposure to nicotine during adolescence can impact brain development, affecting cognitive function, mood regulation, and risk of addiction. Australian youth vaping rates have surged – from 1 in 20 to 1 in 5 between 2019-2023. Quitting can be really difficult - compounded for young people by a lack of targeted resources. Existing offerings are maladapted from smoking, via hard-to-access channels including pharmacies and GPs. Challenge: Create a supportive quit experience specifically for young people – to navigate, stay on-track, and quit vaping for good.

Over 19 weeks we codesigned, tested and launched a quit vaping app allowing young people to: Feel safe and supported getting started Onboarding gathers behaviours/triggers, tailoring the experience with targeted support that meet users where they are, from preparing to quit to maintaining a vape-free lifestyle. Make motivated progress Daily check-ins track streaks and milestones, while a dashboard keeps money saved and personal motivations front of mind. In moments of struggle distractions help redirect cravings. Stay the course Allowing limited ‘slip-ups’ balances accountability with harm minimisation - helping users recognise and adjust behaviour, without losing a sense of progress.

Pave empowers young people to take control of their quit journey. Early data shows strong engagement: 4,500 downloads in three months, a 4.7 App Store rating, and peak ranking of #44 in Health & Fitness. Post-launch research shows Pave is seen to be ‘supporting my quit journey’, ‘becoming part of my daily routine’ and ‘clean, modern and simple to use’. Pave aims to positively impact public health by reducing youth vaping rates at a critical time. At CINSW, Pave has set a new foundation, demonstrating how a human-centred design approach can accelerate the delivery of evidence-based public health solutions.

Working alongside a panel of 50 young people and a youth advisory group, we codesigned prototypes for testing across 22 user research sessions – involving young people aged 14-22 with a mix of metro and regional, ATSI, EAL/D demographics, representing current vapers, those actively quitting, and some who had successfully quit. This allowed us to validate concepts, ensuring features met genuine needs. “I like seeing money saved…Actually being able to see that number alone in today’s society is a good motivator” — Participant 1.3 - Age 20 Pave represents an innovative implementation of the NSW Government design system, pushing boundaries to deliver an accessible and visually captivating experience, specifically targeting young people. We intentionally prioritised aesthetic appeal and user engagement alongside guideline adherence, recognising the ‘feel’ was crucial in building trust with this audience. Small animations and interactions accentuate critical moments of validation, motivation and celebration. “It’s pretty motivating, the confetti. It’s like I’m being celebrated for quitting.” — Participant 1.1 - Age 24. Throughout we utilised the App Behaviour Change Scale (ABACUS) – a standardised tool evaluating behaviour change potential of apps across health categories. Anecdotal assessment places Pave 3rd amongst current cessation apps and 1st among those developed by non-commercial entities.