Vaping products are becoming smarter – and potentially more addictive. Some new devices now reward users with cryptocurrency and other incentives tied to vaping behavior.
Researchers at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center are sounding the alarm about the emerging products in a new perspective published in the New England Journal of Medicine. They argue that by combining addictive substances with financial rewards, gamification and artificial intelligence, these devices increase addiction risk and undermine smoking cessation efforts.
"What really stood out is that these products are rewarding people for engaging in an already rewarding behavior," said Hollings researcher and lead author, Amanda Palmer, Ph.D. "In substance use treatment, we do the opposite. We try to help people find rewarding activities that aren't associated with using a substance."
The perspective examines two recently introduced products: Puffpaw, a nicotine vaping device marketed as an aid for quitting e-cigarettes, and Gudtrip, a cannabis vaping device that ties artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency to use and engagement. Both products connect to smartphone apps and track user behavior.
Although smart vaping devices are relatively new, researchers say now is the time to take a closer look at their public health impacts – before they become more widespread.
Rewarding an addictive behavior
Nicotine and cannabis activate the brain's reward system, making people want to use them again and again. Vaping may make these behaviors even harder to break because users can take individual puffs throughout the day. That means more opportunities for nicotine or cannabis to activate the brain's reward system and more opportunities to build vaping into everyday routines and habits.
"Nicotine is addictive, and the idea of financially incentivizing nicotine use is really scary," said Tracy Smith, Ph.D. , an addiction scientist and co-leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program at Hollings.
The devices do not reward people for quitting. Instead, they reward continued use. Points earned through vaping can be redeemed for cryptocurrency or to purchase refill cartridges.
"There's no incentive for not using the device," Palmer said. "If the rewards can ultimately be traded for more refills, it creates a self-sustaining system that keeps people engaged with and using the product."
The idea of rewarding tobacco use is not new. Tobacco companies have long used rewards programs and promotional giveaways to encourage brand loyalty, including programs like Camel Cash and Marlboro Miles, which allowed smokers to redeem coupons for merchandise. Smart vapes take that concept a step further by combining tobacco marketing tactics with smartphone technology, cryptocurrency and game-like features that track user behavior, reward them for vaping and encourage continued engagement.
The researchers say this approach differs substantially from evidence-based smoking cessation strategies. Financial incentives have been shown to help people to quit tobacco products when they reward abstinence or healthy behaviors – not continued substance use.
The appeal and risks of smart vapes
A particularly concerning aspect of these products is their potential appeal to adolescents and young adults. Their marketing looks more like that of a technology or gaming platform than a traditional vaping device. By utilizing artificial intelligence, mobile apps and financial rewards and game-like features, these devices are intentionally designed to keep users engaged – a strategy that may be particularly appealing to young people, whose brains are still developing and more sensitive to rewarding experiences.
"The cannabis product, in particular, is marketed as being at the intersection of AI, cryptocurrency and cannabis," said Benjamin Toll, Ph.D. , co-director of the Lung Cancer Screening Program and director of the Tobacco Treatment Program at Hollings. "Those features are highly engaging for young people, and I am very concerned about the appeal of these products to children, adolescents and young adults."
Researchers are also concerned about the products' appeal to people experiencing financial hardship, who may be motivated by the promise of earning money or digital assets through vaping. Another vulnerable group is people with substance use disorders. Many evidence-based addiction treatments use rewards and incentives to encourage healthy behaviors and support recovery. Products that financially reward vaping take the opposite approach by rewarding continued use of an addictive substance.
A regulatory gray area
Another major concern highlighted in the paper is that regulations have not kept pace with rapidly evolving vaping technologies.
Before a nicotine vaping product can be legally sold in the U.S., manufacturers must provide evidence to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that it is appropriate for protecting public health. These new smart vaping devices have not received FDA authorization, meaning they are not legally authorized for sale. However, unauthorized vaping products are widely available in the U.S.
"The FDA has an enforcement problem because there are thousands of unauthorized vaping products flooding the market," Smith said. "They have the ability to enforce against specific companies, but they can't do it on the wide scale that's out there now."
The FDA has previously prioritized enforcement against vaping products that are designed to appeal to youth, including those that look like toys or gaming devices. The researchers argue that nicotine products that reward vaping through cryptocurrency, gamification and other incentives deserve similar scrutiny.
Cannabis products present an even greater regulatory challenge. Unlike tobacco products, there is no federal agency responsible for overseeing cannabis products nationwide. Instead, cannabis regulations vary from state to state and often focus more on how products are manufactured and sold than on how they are marketed or designed.
"There really isn't an equivalent federal oversight system for cannabis products," Palmer explained. "Cannabis regulatory science isn't as mature as tobacco is, which makes these types of emerging technologies particularly difficult to address."
Palmer noted that the devices' ability to collect detailed user data adds another layer of concern. Because they are connected to smartphone apps, it remains unclear how that information could ultimately be used or shared.
Getting ahead of an emerging risk
The researchers emphasize that they are not arguing against harm reduction strategies or technological innovation to support smoking cessation. Electronic cigarettes do expose users to fewer harmful chemicals than combustible cigarettes, and vaping cannabis may reduce exposure to toxins compared with smoking it. Their concern is that products that financially reward vaping could make these addictive substances harder to quit.
Palmer said the team published their perspective now because researchers and regulators have a rare opportunity to address these issues before the products become commonplace.
"We're trying to get ahead of what could become a much bigger issue," Palmer said. "The vaping marketplace changes incredibly quickly, and it's important that we think carefully about how these technologies are designed and marketed."
The researchers also hope that the paper raises awareness among clinicians and parents about the changing nature of vaping products. For clinicians, that means staying informed about emerging products that patients, particularly adolescents and young adults, may be using.
At a minimum, the researchers believe that vape-to-earn products should undergo careful review by federal and state regulators. They hope their paper sparks broader conversations about how emerging technologies, financial incentives and addictive substances intersect – and the need for policies to evolve in order to keep pace to protect public health.
For people interested in quitting nicotine, evidence-based tobacco cessation treatments remain highly effective. MUSC Health's Tobacco Treatment Program provides comprehensive support to help patients to quit smoking and vaping.
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