Slashdot Mirror


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.

1 of 203 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Reduction? by elgatozorbas · · Score: 0, Troll

    That these people group vaping in with smoking shows that they really don't care about health. If these things help with smoking cessation, and they don't carry the passive smoking risks, then why are we being told to go stand with the smokers? I'm actually trying to avoid smoking, yet I'm having to go stand in an area that exposes me to the risks of passive smoking.

    Maybe because to OTHERS vaping is almost as annoying as smoking. For years these people have been exposed to the stinking and toxic fumes of smokers. Now that we finally have some legislation to protect the non-smokers, YOU come and complain that "being around smokers" -which you were one of yourself, apparently- "is not good for your health".

    You know ahat? This is not only about YOU. Other people, non-smokers are happy they were finally entitled to some fresh air and now you want to ruin that for them as well with your "vaping."