Electronic cigarettes may help smokers quit

First introduced in 2006— e-cigarettes proponents have argued that the pen-shaped nicotine vaporizers could help cigarette smokers kick the habit.

Now, a review of the scientific literature conducted by the UK Cochrane Centre focused on  two randomized controlled trials, and considered data from 11 cohort studies, which compared people who were already trying to quit with and without e-cigarettes.

On balance, the data “suggests that electronic cigarettes can be helpful for stopping smoking and reducing cigarette consumption,” says lead author and behavioral scientist Hayden McRobbie of the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in London.

After 1 year, trial participants who used the devices were more than twice as likely (4% versus 9%) to successfully quit compared with those who used a nicotine-free placebo vaporizer.
Another 36% of e-cigarette users were able to reduce the number of traditional cigarettes they smoked by 50% or more. But 28% of placebo users also reduced their cigarette consumption by at least 50%, suggesting that some of the e-cigarette’s quitting power may be derived from the mere act of “smoking” it.

The Cochrane review looked for signs of serious adverse reactions to the e-cigarette therapy, but found none. That’s certainly not to say that e-cigarettes are completely harmless. “We don’t know the risk of long-term use yet,” McRobbie says Because there are so few studies investigating how well e-cigarettes work as a quitting tool, the review’s confidence levels are low and estimates for efficacy are likely to change

The Cochrane review calls for further study, specifically comparing e-cigarettes with other methods of quitting like the patch in terms of safety and efficacy.

Read more: http://bit.ly/1JPEzbZ

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References

Hayden McRobbie et al.: Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation and reduction | The Cochrane library|  December 17  2014 | DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD010216.pub2