Study: E-Cigarettes More Effective Than Nicotine Products in Helping Smokers Quit

A new study finds smokers are 60 percent more likely to be successful in quitting smoking if they switch to e-cigarettes, instead of using nicotine products such as gum or patches.

The findings add to the debate over the role of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation. Last week, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco published a study that concluded e-cigarette use is not leading many people who smoke regular cigarettes to quit. The researchers also found e-cigarettes are being heavily marketed to young people.

In the new study, researchers at University College London followed almost 5,863 smokers over five years, Reuters reports. The smokers had tried to quit without using prescription medications or professional help, the article notes. Twenty percent of smokers who tried to quit with the help of e-cigarettes were successful, compared with 10 percent of those using nicotine patches or gum, and 15 percent of those using willpower alone. The researchers adjusted the results for factors that might influence success at quitting, including age, nicotine dependence, previous quit attempts, and whether quitting was gradual or abrupt.

The findings are published in the journal Addiction.

“E-cigarettes could substantially improve public health because of their widespread appeal and the huge health gains associated with stopping smoking,” said lead researcher Robert West. “It’s not clear whether long-term use of e-cigarettes carries health risks, but from what is known about the contents of the vapor these will be much less than from smoking.”

West noted smokers who receive professional help from doctors or smoking cessation clinics have the best chance of quitting. In a news release, he noted these services “almost triple a smoker’s odds of successfully quitting compared with going it alone or relying on over-the-counter products.”