Key Takeaways

  • Fraternity and sorority members vape at higher rates (30% vs 18%).
  • Daily vape use in fraternities increased 30% → 41% in five years.
  • Vaping peaks junior year (61%) before dropping senior year.
  • HabitHalo’s RipLok product offers structured quitting tools for Greek-life members.

Key Findings from Recent Studies

HabitHalo found two new articles examining vaping at Fraternities, the first from Valparaiso University found 30% of Fraternity and Sorority members vaped compared to 18% of the general student body. The American Journal of College Health looked at daily vape use in Fraternities as a proxy for addiction and found it increased from 30% to 41% of members over the last five years.

How Vaping Behaviors Change Over Class Years

The Valparaiso University study also found vape use increased by class year through Junior year, then declined as Seniors prepared to graduate, “Year in school provided differences in vaping use Freshmen – 39%, Sophomore – 53%, Junior – 61%, Senior – 52%”.

Why Fraternity Members Struggle to Quit

While University awareness of vaping increased over the last five years – and many University Wellness Centers added vaping cessation assistance to their programs — Fraternal organizations lagged behind. Some chapters tried increasing awareness or education, but when their members tried to quit, the results were poor. Like all vapers, cold turkey failed 95% of the time, while gums and patches failed 90% of the time. Expensive counseling and prescription drugs can help a vaper quit but as the American Journal of College Health article found – the social networks at Fraternities draw the vaper back in.

HabitHalo offers structured quitting tools for Greek-life members

At HabitHalo we want to work with Fraternities and Sororities to help their members quit en masse. We offer a discounted bulk purchase plan that makes distributing RipLoks to all the vaping members of a chapter easy and affordable. If your fraternity or sorority is interested in helping members quit, tell us more by completing a questionnaire. Our sales team will reach out to chat about ways we can help!

Sources

Vaping Prevalence on College Campuses PDF (scholar.valpo.edu)

Welch, A., Patterson, M. S., Wilshire, C., Kathuria, H., Gilbert, C., & Gorden, J. (2025). Ego networks associated with e-cigarette use among college fraternity students: a cross-sectional study. Journal of American College Health, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2024.2440754