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?

[MysteriousPreacher]

There's a certain kind of mentality that drives some people to see vaping as just another form of smoking, which they also consider to be evil. It's why we see these attempts at laws, particularly under the "think of the children" banner.

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.

Such things are driven by emotion and ideology rather than any serious concern for health.

Re:Reduction?

[arth1]

There's a certain kind of mentality that drives some people to see vaping as just another form of smoking, which they also consider to be evil. It's why we see these attempts at laws, particularly under the "think of the children" banner.

I think at least a good part of that is caused by the most visible and obnoxious subset of e-cig users: the cloud chasers. Their goal is to create as big mist clouds as possible, by far exceeding what cigarette smokers do. They deliberately use mixes high in vegetable glycerin, and use low resistance atomizers that increase the amount of mist produced to the maximum.
And completely ruin it for the ones who go out of their ways to be discreet and get a personal fix so they won't go for a cigarette.

Re:Reduction?

[Mashiki]

Such things are driven by emotion and ideology rather than any serious concern for health.

Much like other things, from sex and violence, to video games and literature. What's interesting is just who is pushing for the bans these days. I can't speak for your neck of the woods, but in mine it's the liberal-left(liberal party of ontario), who are pushing the "ecigs are just as bad as cigs, if not worse *insert bogus study here, which was actually a questionnaire and not peer reviewed*." On the flip side, the conservatives see it as a money maker to replace cigarettes and cigars with something far more healthy, but can be taxed at a lower rate. And that gives a two-fold effect. First the revenue would remain the same or increase(ecigs are seen to be far more socially acceptable), but the healthcare costs from smoking would significantly be reduced within 10 years.

Re:Reduction?

[gnick]

...the vapor cloud is huge and distracting.

That depends completely on the preferences of the user when selecting an eCig, adjusting settings when available, and selecting fluid. There are ways to make huge clouds (with which some people seem obsessed), but that doesn't have to be the case. It's not difficult to vape very discreetly if that's your motivation. Unfortunately, allowing people to discreetly vape implies inviting the fog machines too.

Re:Reduction?

[Lord Kano]

There's a certain kind of mentality that drives some people to see vaping as just another form of smoking, which they also consider to be evil. It's why we see these attempts at laws, particularly under the "think of the children" banner.

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.

Such things are driven by emotion and ideology rather than any serious concern for health.

I think that these people got so used to fucking with smokers that they feel cheated by vaping.

They have been working for 50 years to demonize smoking (and smoking should be demonized) in all facets of life. They've been making great progress. When I was a kid, people could smoke virtually anywhere. People could smoke in hospitals. People could smoke in movie theaters. People could smoke in department stores. People could smoke in supermarkets. Now, people can't smoke in any of those places. There is even talk of prohibiting smoking in private automobiles if children are present. There was even once a proposal that could have forbade smoking in private homes if someone else was there to perform work. Somewhere along the way, it stopped being about health and became about fucking with smokers. It stopped being about demonizing smoking and became about demonizing smokers. People who vape just side-stepped them. People who vape get to continue their enjoyment of nicotine while not making everything stink like smoke.

They've been feeling smugly superior to smokers for so long that they're now addicted to that feeling and they don't want to give it up yet.

LK

Re:Reduction?

[elrous0]

I think at least a good part of that is caused by the most visible and obnoxious subset of e-cig users: the cloud chasers.

Yep, there is a HUGE difference between the moderate vapers, many of whom use it as an alternative to smoking, and the hipster cloud-chaser douchebags who feel the need to compete over who can blow the most obnoxiously huge clouds. Sadly, it's the latter who are most visible and most associated with vaping, though they're FAR outnumbered by the less-visible former.

Re:BS

[beerbear]

In fact, it was shown that simply saying it was shown does not carry a lot of weight around here.

Re:whole tobacco alkaloids

[Anonymous Coward]

I quit a couple of years ago after being an nicotine addict (quite heavy) for about 20 years ... One morning i just stopped..
I did fail a couple of times due to different circumstances, but it was just a smoke or two while being weak..

What i learnt from this...
- First week is terrible.. Try to have everything you need at home, and loads of things to keep you occupied.
- Patches just prolongs your addiction.. Try to stay away from them... (but we are all different)
- Stay away from secondhand smoke for the first 2 months or so..... For me it caused big cravings that where really hard to ignore..
- Stay away from nicotine completely at least for the first 2 years.. A single smoke during this time can make you have another round of cravings.
- For the first 6 months try to stay away from stress.... At least the one that is continuous for multiple weeks.

If you tell, and possibly plan for things in advance, most people around you will understand and even help you.. Including your boss..

But all of this is my own experience from the ordeal.. But i hope it may help others that want to quit too..

The feeling from waking up in the morning without wanting to have a smoke... And not stressing out because you are out of smokes before going to bed... Or spending 12+ hours on a long flight... Or having thousands of $ extra per year to spend on things i like.. Or the realization when you eat food after a few months and realize that everything tastes more now when your sense of smell and taste has been restored. Or missing to go outside in the middle of the winter just to have smoke..

Good luck to anyone else that is planning to quit... Remember to plan a bit ahead.. If you fail try to learn from why you failed and jump back on the horse..

 

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.

Re:whole tobacco alkaloids

[daniel23]

I was hunting for that stuff when I started the transition from a moderate long time smoker to vaping. WTA is unavailable in Europe, the best I could find was drinking tea of maracuja flowers (which happen to carry higher levels of some of the alkaloids).
I did some other things to strengthen my back, like documenting every single day in a huge excell sheet. Sounds anal but it helped me in many weak moments to look at the column of pyro-free days and tell myself I'd have to start new all over if I smoke a cig now.

Smoking for >42 years. Vaping for 528 days now, with a period of mixed use of just one month. I never thought I could let go of tobacco until I got that box with an usb port that even lets me fiddle with its firmware so I can run an open source firmware on it

There is a lot of anti vape propaganda around, the government hates me avoiding tobacco taxes, anti-addiction fundamentalists happily join with big tobacco lobbyist to push all sorts of FUD against vaping. The tobacco industry looks at dwindling sales and the anti-addiction evangelists fear for once guaranteed funding.

The talk of health is just that, talk. If health organisations like the WHO were seriously trying to help reduce the health impact of smoking they would at least research the phenomenon before opposing it. But vaping as a way out of smoking endangers the position of professional tabacco abuse specialists, simply because they are not needed for it and it wasn't their idea. Vaping emerged in a grass root way, uncontrolled by institutions or corporations and the opponents of vaping agree that this is unacceptable.