Smokers Are Over 60% More Likely to Quit With E-Cigarettes
The study, published in the May 20th journal of Addiction, is just another indication that electronic cigarettes may be a useful tool in smoking cessation.
“It appears, at least for some people, e-cigarettes are a viable method of quitting that looks comparable to, if not better than, traditional nicotine replacement therapy,” said Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor of community health sciences at Boston University School of Public Health.
Mixed Research on Smoking Cessation
This isn’t the first study concerning e-cigs and smoking cessation, and it probably won’t be the last. Earlier this year, a study from JAMA Internal Medicine suggested that electronic cigarettes do not help users curb or quit smoking, but it’s important to note that researchers looked at a general pool of e-cigarette users, even those with no intentions to quit. The latest study looked specifically at users try to quit smoking and compared it to various other methods.
Over the past few years there have been a variety of studies evaluating the effectiveness of electronic cigarettes on smoking cessation. Although some of the initial research suggested that it’s not an effective tool, there’s significantly more research suggesting otherwise. Here are some examples:
Positive Smoking Cessation Studies:
- 2013 Addictive Behaviors Study – E-cigarettes may contribute to relapse prevention in former smokers and smoking cessation in current smokers.
- 2013 Lancent Medical Journal Study – Determined that e-cigarettes were modestly effective at helping smokers to quit, equivalent to nicotine patches.
- 2013 PLoS ONE Study – E-cigarettes decreased cigarette consumption and elicited enduring tobacco abstinence without causing significant side effects.
- 2012 Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco – E-cigs deliver similar levels of nicotine and reduce exposure to combustion toxicants after switching from tobacco.
- 2011 Boston University Study – Electronic cigarette use significantly reduced tobacco cravings, a similar effect to what has been observed with nicotine inhalers.
- 2011 BioMed Central Public Health Study – Concluded that smokers substantially decreased their cigarette consumption (without significant side effects) with e-cigs.
- 2010 Tobacco Control Study – Found that e-cigarettes alleviated users desire to smoke and had a ‘pharmacokinetic profile’ more like the Nicorette inhalator than tobacco.
* See a full list of e-cigarette studies →
The Advantages of E-Cigarettes
While most experts agree that more research is necessary, and that may be true for conclusive, scientific evidence, ask any one of the thousands of smokers who quit using electronic cigarettes and they’ll overwhelmingly praise these helpful electronic devices. E-cigarettes offer several benefits over other smoking cessation aids that may impact their overall effectiveness, including:
- Look and feel like real cigarettes
- Effectively mimic the act of smoking
- Allow users to slowly reduce nicotine levels
- Hobby and social elements
This latest study is just another example of the growing evidence that e-cigarettes help people quit. If you haven’t kicked the habit yet and you’ve tried every other method to quit, maybe it’s time to give electronic cigarettes a shot. They may not work for everyone, but according to the latest research, you’re 60% more likely to succeed with e-cigarettes than with any other method 😉
* See our list of top e-cigarettes for first-time users →
