FEATURE
Vapers are more resilient to
smoking relapses, even after
the occasional cigarette
Researchers have found some key advantages to vaping that keep the strongest temptations of old
smoking habits away, even after relapses
By Leo Forfar
New research conducted at the
University of East Anglia’s Norwich
Medical School has suggested that
vapers are less prone to smoking
relapses than non-vapers, even if
they have the odd cigarette.
A 40-strong group of ex-smokers who had successfully used
e-cigarettes to quit were interviewed by the research team.
Roughly half of the subjects reported slip-ups and occasional bouts
of dual use. One of the most interesting findings of the study was
that vapers view smoking relapses differently to non-vapers in that
those that relapsed exhibited less stress and defeatism and were
less likely to let it adversely affect their willpower.
Project lead, Dr Caitlin Notley said: "In the past – a brief smoking
lapse would almost always lead to a full relapse, and people would
usually feel like a failure for slipping up. But this was before people
started switching to vaping.”
“The difference is that, for some vapers, the odd cigarette was
thought of as being ‘allowed.' For others, an unintentional cigarette
made them even more determined to maintain abstinence in future.
Either way, it didn't necessarily lead to a full relapse back into
smoking."
This discovery is not just important for continuing to make the
case for vaping as an effective method of smoking cessation, but
it fleshes out just how three-dimensional vaping is as a method of
nicotine replacement. Vaping supplements the myriad physical and
mental factors in nicotine use in ways other replacement methods
don’t, changing our very attitudes and viewpoints on smoking.
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