One study found that e-cigarettes were no more effective at helping smokers quit than going cold turkey.
Only 10% of smokers who used vapes to quit the habit successfully quit within 12 months.
By comparison, this number stands at about a fifth for smokers who stay away from nicotine gum, patches or tablets and give up without any extra help.
The findings by US researchers have cast doubt on the wisdom that e-cigarettes are one of the best ways to help smokers quit.
For now, the NHS advises that vaping can help smokers – although it’s not available by prescription.
But Britain will become the first country in the world to prescribe e-cigarettes to help smokers quit, if the Government’s plans go ahead.
University of California researchers used survey data from 3,000 recent smokers who had tried to quit the habit and more than 1,000 recent smokers.
A US study finds people looking to quit may want to stay away from e-cigarettes after finding people already using the devices
The surveys – used for research published in the journal Tobacco Control – were conducted between 2017 and 2019.
In their study, a successful quit attempt was defined as abstaining from tobacco products such as cigarettes for 12 months or more.
Participants were asked what kind of products they were using to try to kick their habit.
The researchers looked at people trying to quit and people trying to quit all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.
If they are using e-cigarettes, they will be asked if they have used a product with a nicotine concentration of 0-4% or higher.
They were also asked about their level of tobacco dependence, such as how often they smoked, and how long they had smoked.
Most smokers trying to quit (64%) have tried eating cold turkey, which the NHS recommends against.
Others using e-cigarettes or nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) can be prescribed to people trying to quit in the UK.
By 2019, only 10% of those who tried to quit vaping in 2017 were successful.
This compares with 19% of those using no products.
The scientists also calculated that e-cigarettes were associated with a reduction of seven successful attempts per 100 people who would quit, compared with other pharmaceutical adjuvants.
Additionally, nearly 60 percent of people who smoked via daily vap continued to smoke traditional cigarettes in 2019.
Dr John Pierce, study author, said: ‘This analysis does not show a benefit of stopping e-cigarette use as an aid or substitute for smoking.’
However, he added that further research is needed to measure the effects of higher-intensity nicotine vapors, which have become more common since 2019, on smoking cessation rates.
But some British experts have criticized the study. Professor John Britton, from the University of Nottingham, said their conclusion was incorrect when looking at people who had not quit smoking in the past.
‘The findings … are fundamentally flawed due to confounding by severity, whereby the heaviest (most heavily addicted) smokers tried and failed to quit with NRT or other treatment methods. other therapists in the past, or those who have refused to quit in the past, then try e-cigarettes,’ he said.
He says why this finding contradicts other studies that have shown e-cigarettes to be an effective smoking cessation aid.
The study was observational, which means it couldn’t determine why people who tried to smoke with e-cigarettes were less successful.
However, the findings have cast some doubt on the UK Government’s plans to prescribe e-cigarettes on the NHS for smokers trying to quit.
Regulators have released updated guidance paving the way for pharmaceutically licensed e-cigarette products to be prescribed to smokers who want to stop smoking and switch to tobacco instead. electronic.
The move could see Britain become the first country in the world to prescribe a medically licensed e-cigarette, which is currently used by around 3.6 million adults.
The controversial move comes despite last year’s World Health Organization declaration that the devices were ‘certainly harmful’.
While vaping is generally considered healthier than traditional smoking, numerous studies have linked the habit to a number of health problems, from breathing problems to erectile dysfunction.
NHS bosses say the gadgets – which can cost between £20 and £30 – are ‘much less harmful than traditional cigarettes.
Source: | This article originally belonged to Dailymail.co.uk
