381 E-Cigarettes & Quitting

Written by Shannon Cantalupo

Cigarette smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causes many diseases, yet quitting lowers these risks and can add years to your life.  However, smoking is such a difficult habit to quit. People try many different ways to quit smoking, including E-Cigarettes. But how effective are they?

Psychology and medical researchers in the UK compared the effectiveness of E-Cigarettes to Nicotine-Replacement Therapy for those attempting to quit smoking. They defined effectiveness as abstinence from smoking after one year

They randomly assigned over 850 individuals attending Stop Smoking Services to either a nicotine-replacement product of their choice or an e-cigarette group. Clinicians provided each participant behavioral support for 4 weeks.  During trial visits, they assessed participants for smoking status, expired carbon monoxide, use of trial products, withdrawal symptoms, and adverse reactions. 

Results? Only 10% in the nicotine-replacement group and 18% of the e-cigarette group abstained from smoking, Though the e-cigarette group reported a decline in the coughing compared to the nicotine-replacement group, they reported more frequent throat and mouth irritation. The nicotine-replacement group reported more nausea.

Find a way to quit smoking—at any age quitting aids your health.  E-cigarettes have a higher success rate than nicotine-replacement.

Reference:

Hajek, P., Phillips-Waller, A., Przulj, D., Pesola, F., Smith, K. M., Bisal, N., … McRobbie, H. J. (2019). A randomized trial of e-cigarettes versus nicotine-replacement therapy. The New England Journal of Medicine, 38(7), 629-637.