E-CIGARETTES
TWICE AS
EFFECTIVE AS
NICOTINE PATCHES
OR GUM.
A landmark study demonstrates
the key role vaping plays in
smoking cessation
BY GORDON STRIBLING
Smokers are twice as likely to successfully quit
with e-cigarettes than with nicotine patches
or gum, according to a new study.
The randomised controlled trial was the first of its kind to
compare traditional nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT)
with e-cigarettes, which are not licensed medicines.
“The research indicates that health
professionals and stop smoking
services should reach out to smokers
who want to use e-cigarettes and
support them in making this life-
changing step”
By the end of the year, 18 percent of the e-cigarette
users had successfully quit smoking, compared to 10
percent of the NRT group. Professor Hajeck said that e-cigarettes are ‘unlikely to
be totally safe’ and if long-term risk was generated, it
would be better to not use anything at all.
All participants were also given behavioural support. “Now the positive aspect is that we know from studies of
nicotine replacement therapy that some heavy smokers
need that crutch for longer to protect them from relapse.
Professor Peter Hajek from Queen Mary University of
London who led the study said:
“Although a large number of smokers report that they
have quit smoking successfully with the help of
e-cigarettes, health professionals have been reluctant
to recommend their use because of the lack of clear
evidence from randomised controlled trials. This is now
likely to change.”
The NRT group were more irritable, found it harder to
concentrate and reported more incidence of nausea than
the e-cigarette group.
By the end of the year, 80 percent of the e-cigarette
users were still vaping and only eight percent of the other
group were still using NRT products.
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“They will get quite a bit of benefit in that they will avoid
feeling miserable and having urges to smoke and feeling
there is something missing in their life and they will not
put on weight, which these type of heavy smokers do,
which puts them at risk of diabetes and so on.”
Ann McNeill, Professor of Tobacco Addiction at Kings
College London said:
“Smokers trying to quit have been choosing e-cigarettes
over other types of support for some time. The research
indicates that health professionals and stop smoking
services should reach out to smokers who want to
use e-cigarettes and support them in making this life-
changing step.”