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NEWS
E-cigarettes can be as effective as smoking conventional cigarettes at delivering nicotine
Nicotine delivery is most effective in experienced vapers , says new study
New research shows that e-cigarettes can be as effective at delivering nicotine as conventional cigarettes , especially when used by experienced vapers . For the study , scientists examined changes in blood nicotine from volunteers who used both cigarettes and e-cigarettes . The results revealed that nicotine delivery from e-cigarettes differs , according to the type of e-cigarette , who uses them and how . The research - E-cigarette Nicotine Delivery : Data and Learnings from Pharmacokinetic Studies - has been published in the American Journal of Health Behavior - and is good news for the vaping industry . Lead author Dr Ian Fearon , Head of Clinical Research at British American Tobacco , said : “ Our results tell us that newer generation e-cigarettes are more effective at delivering nicotine than firstgeneration e-cigarettes . But , smokers need to be able to adapt their behavior in order to use them to best effect , at least with currently available products . ‘ E-cigarettes are effective at delivering nicotine during brief use periods and new-generation devices are even better at it . “ However , elevation of blood nicotine levels during e-cigarette use was greater in experienced vapers compared to e-cigarette naïve smokers and under more real-world conditions , ie when the volunteer controlled how they used them .” Veteran researcher in smoking cessation Dr Mitch Nides , president of Los Angeles Clinical Trials , was a key member of the research team . Dr . Nides has been the principal investigator of over 60 smoking cessation trials testing nicotine and nonnicotine products including patch , gum , lozenge , Inhaler , Zyban and Varenicline .
He said : “ Being as effective as cigarettes at delivering nicotine in important because it could be a factor in determining whether smokers are likely to continue to use e-cigarettes in place of regular cigarettes .” The research used volunteers who were split into two groups - smokers , who were not current users of e-cigarettes , and current vapers who also occasionally smoked .
Study 1 ( smokers )
Participants in this stud first smoked a typical cigarette for five minutes by taking a single puff every 30 seconds . After a 15-minute break , they smoked cigarettes freely for an hour . At specific time points during both smoking periods , blood samples were taken and participants were asked to rate how much they would like a cigarette . After two days , the procedure was repeated but with a Vype vPro ePen e-cigarette ( a closed modular system ). For these inexperienced ( in e-cigarettes ) smokers , e-cigarettes delivered less nicotine than conventional cigarettes : During the 5-minute defined puffing period , mean peak nicotine concentration from the e-cigarette was significantly lower [ at 2.5ng / ml ] than for a regular cigarette [ 13.4ng / ml ], although the time to reach it was similar . During the free period , mean nicotine concentration reached using the e-cigarettes was higher at 5.9ng / ml , but still not as high as with cigarettes ( 14.9ng / ml ). Both the cigarette and the e-cigarette reduced the urge to smoke .
Study 2 ( vapers )
Participants in the second study first smoked a single cigarette freely for five minutes ; blood samples were taken at specific time points before , during and after . The participants were then given Nicolite ( an old-style cig-a-like , non-rechargeable first-generation e-cigarette ) to familiarize themselves with and , after two days , the procedure was repeated but with a second-generation e-cigarette , a Vype vPro ePen . After two days , the procedure was again repeated . For the vapers , mean peak blood nicotine concentration for the Vype e-cigarette was 7.8ng / ml compared to 7.2ng / ml for cigarettes . For Nicolites , mean peak blood nicotine concentration was 4.7ng / ml . These results demonstrate that the e-cigarettes , especially the newer models , can effectively deliver nicotine to experienced users . The results also suggest that the experience of study volunteers needs to be considered when planning and executing these kinds of studies to ensure the reliability of results .
“ Being as effective as cigarettes at delivering nicotine in important because it could be a factor in determining whether smokers are likely to continue to use e-cigarettes in place of regular cigarettes .”
26 ISSUE 09 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE