Study Adds to Evidence E-Cigarettes May Help Some Smokers Quit

A new study adds to evidence that e-cigarettes may help some smokers quit. The study followed e-cigarette users for one year, and found they cut back or quit regular cigarettes in large numbers, according to Reuters.

E-cigarette users were also less likely to start smoking regular cigarettes again in the short term. Participants filled out an online questionnaire at the start of the study, which was posted on a French smoking cessation website. They filled out another questionnaire one month later, and a third one a year later. The 367 participants who filled out all three surveys answered questions about e-cigarette use, tobacco use and when they quit smoking.

Among those who had already quit smoking and were using e-cigarettes instead, 6 percent started smoking regular cigarettes again after one month. That number held steady after one year. For those who used both regular cigarettes and e-cigarettes at the start of the study, 22 percent quit smoking after one month, and 46 percent quit after one year. They smoked an average of 11.3 regular cigarettes a day at the beginning of the study, and six cigarettes daily after one month.

The results appear in the journal Addictive Behaviors.

A study published in September concluded e-cigarettes are about as effective as nicotine patches in helping smokers quit. The study found people who use e-cigarettes smoke fewer regular cigarettes, even if they don’t completely stop smoking.