Electronic cigarettes facilitate smoking cessation

Electronic cigarettes can be used as an aid to stop smoking and reducing consumption. The review draws on two randomized trials and found that while nicotine containing electronic cigarettes was more effective than electronic cigarettes without nicotine (placebo) in helping smokers kick the habit. Smoking is a major global health problem, is costly and is highly addictive. Despite many smokers wanting to stop, few succeed in the long-term. One of the most widely used strategies to help combat the cravings associated with nicotine addiction is to deliver nicotine by patches and chewing gum. Electronic cigarettes have been around in some form for a number of years but recently their popularity has increased substantially. Unlike chewing gum and patches, they mimic the experience of cigarette smoking because they are hand-held and generate smoke-like vapors when used. They provide smokers with a nicotine ‘hit’ and help to recreate similar sensations of smoking without exposing them or others to the smoke from conventional cigarettes. The results show beneficial effects of electronic cigarettes, but are limited by the small number of trials. About 9% of smokers who used electronic cigarettes were able to stop smoking at up to one year. This compared with around 4% of smokers who used the nicotine-free electronic cigarettes. When the researchers looked at the data on reducing cigarettes in people who had not quit, they found that 36% of electronic cigarette users halved the number of conventional cigarettes. Findings suggest electronic cigarettes with nicotine help people stop or reduce smoking when compared to electronic cigarettes without nicotine.