E-cigarettes aid smoking cessation: understanding the benefits and consideration

A recent study from Switzerland involving over 1,200 adult smokers found that using e-cigarettes alongside counselling significantly increased the likelihood of quitting smoking compared to counselling alone. The study published in the New England Journal of Medicine lasted for 6 months, and at the end of this period, 29% of those using e-cigarettes had successfully quit smoking, compared to 16% of those who received only counseling.

It is important to note that participants in both groups were allowed to use nicotine replacement therapy as well. The results suggest that e-cigarettes can be an effective tool for quitting smoking, with approximately 8 smokers needing to use e-cigarettes alongside counselling for one additional person to successfully quit smoking. It is worth mentioning that some people in the e-cigarette group were still using nicotine-containing e-cigarettes at the end of the study, indicating that while they had stopped smoking traditional cigarettes, they were still using e-cigarettes.

The study did not find any significant increase in serious adverse events among either group, meaning that the use of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation appears to be relatively safe.

The findings have prompted discussions among experts, with some suggesting that e-cigarettes should be considered as part of the toolkit for quitting smoking. However, there are still concerns about the long-term safety of e-cigarettes, and more research is needed in this area.