E-Cigarettes Linked To Helping People Quit Smoking, Says Study (theverge.com)

According to a new study, electronic cigarettes help people trying to quit smoking. The Verge reports: For the study, published today in the journal BMJ, researchers analyzed survey data from over 160,000 people spanning almost 15 years. They found that smokers who used e-cigs tried to quit smoking more often and succeeded (for at least three months) more often than smokers who didn't use e-cigs. Overall, more people quit in the latest year that data was available -- the 2014 -- 15 year -- than in the 2010 -- 11 year. Today's study didn't address whether e-cigs are luring people who would otherwise be nonsmokers. But it did find that e-cigs do have a role in helping people quit. The researchers looked at several population surveys that cover the years 2001 to 2015. These surveys provided smoking-cessation rates, and the most recent survey, from 2014 to 2015, had information about e-cigarette usage. The results show that 65 percent of e-cigarette users had tried to quit smoking, versus 40 percent of people who smoked but didn't use e-cigs. About 8 percent of e-cig users succeeded in quitting for at least three months, compared to about 5 percent of non-users. Overall, the number of people who quit smoking increased by 1.1 percentage points in 2015 from 2011. This might not seem that impressive, but it still represents about 350,000 people.

Comments

Reduction?

[Calydor]

Does the study address whether e-cigs help people seriously reduce, but not quit entirely, smoking normal cigarettes?

From a family member I can say that getting an e-cig reduced smoking from about a pack a day to two-three cigs a day; certainly an improvement though I have no idea where that would fall in this kind of either-or study. Probably on the "Didn't try quitting" or "Tried and failed" columns.

Re:Reduction?

[Mashiki]

It's not in the context of the study. This one measured decline of smoking rates over the sample period(about 18 years), including using data from previous smoking survey's, it's society-wide acceptance and prevalence and attempt to quit before ecigs became a thing as well as the attempt to quit and successfully quitting after they became a thing. There are other studies listed in the annotations section that would cover what you're looking for though.

What bothers me, not linked to the study are the number of governments outright banning them or applying the same rules as smoking.

Re:Reduction?

[WolfWithoutAClause]

I just looked up the formaldehyde thing. Apparently a non dry puff of an e-cigarette contains about a microgram of formaldehyde. But I knew that natural foods also metabolise to formaldehyde, I managed to find a table:

http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/...

So 100g of apple, i.e. roughly an average apple contains ~1mg of formaldehyde; i.e. a thousand times more. Of course you don't inhale apples, but still, so it could be bad for your lungs nevertheless.

This link suggests that the amount of formaldehyde emitted is probably within established industrial limits over the course of a day, even for the users:

http://ecigarettereviewed.com/...

whole tobacco alkaloids

[toucan_mathieu]

8 percent is still an awfully low success rate. personally i tried to quit cigarettes several times with the patch, nicotine gum, and vaping with plain nicotine, but always went back to smoking after about a week. now it's been almost 3 years since i quit for good, and what made the difference was vaping liquid with "whole tobacco alkaloids" (WTA), meaning they add not only nicotine but also 3 other psychoactive compounds from the tobacco. no more cigarette cravings, hundreds of times less toxic than smoking. end of public service announcement.

You don't ever NEED a cigarette

[davide marney]

Long-time smoker here, smoked for 30 years, quit over a period of a year, and for 30 more years have never once ever wanted to smoke a cigarette again.

The key is this: you never, ever "need" to smoke. In fact, just the opposite, you have to force your body to accept smoking. Just remember how sick you got at the beginning. That's how much your normal body doesn't like smoke. It's an irritant! What kind of crazy logic is it to intentionally breathe in smoke?

I sat down 30 years ago and made a list of all the pros and cons of smoking. Honestly, there are a lot of things on both sides of that list, it surprised me. But when you net it out, what remains is this: all that smoking gives you is the desire to have another cigarette.

In other words, it's a cheat. I try to not do stupid things. Cheating yourself is colossally stupid.

Go cold turkey. Forget about walking up to it, attack it head-on. It took me three attempts, each one much easier to maintain than the last.

You can do this. Your body will thank you.

My success...

[beheaderaswp]

I had my last cigarette June 5th 2010. That's when I started "vaping" with the very primitive equipment available then.

It wasn't easy. Cigarettes create a cross addiction not only to nicotine, but to at least 4 chemicals in the smoke which are MAOI inhibitors (anti-depressants). So as a 30 year smoker I did have withdrawals, but not nearly as bad and quitting cold turkey.

I tried all the alternatives... Chantix cause major health problems.... Welbutrin made me manic.... Celexa put me in a state of mind where if not careful my behavior could be more reckless than my normal measured self. Patches and gums worked- but only if I were willing to use them to the point of nicotine overdose. Cold turkey was a no go.... roughly 10 attempts were made... impossible for me.

That being said vaping is not a vitamin. It delivers nicotine. And it's addictive. It's not a good thing.

But if you are trapped by tobacco and willing to work at it- it can be a good thing. For smokers trapped by the habit only.

Anyone else who is into vaping for "sport" or "cool factor" are just fools.