Vapes ‘proven and viable option for people’ for quitting cigarettes

Ella Pickover, Press Association Health Correspondent

Vapes are a “proven and viable option for people wishing to quit traditional cigarettes”, experts have said after a large review into e-cigarettes compared to other quit aids.

While vapes are “unlikely to be completely risk-free”, they are “less harmful than smoking”, experts added as they called on stop smoking services to offer a range of products to help people in their quit attempts.

It comes after a new study found smokers were more likely to quit using vapes compared to conventional methods such as nicotine gum and patches.

The Cochrane Review examined 80 studies involving almost 30,000 people.

Researchers found that vape use “increased quit rates compared to nicotine replacement therapy”, such as gum or patches, with vaping leading to 61% increased odds in a quit attempt being successful after six months.

This means that for every 100 people using nicotine e-cigarettes to stop smoking, eight to 10 might successfully stop, compared with six of 100 people using nicotine-replacement therapy.

Vapes containing nicotine outperformed those without, helping more people to quit.

Meanwhile, researchers looked at behavioural support – offered through advice and counselling – and found that those who were also given vapes containing nicotine were more likely to kick the habit.

Dr Nicola Lindson, lead author of the review based at the University of Oxford, said: “Quitting smoking is hard and a lot of people who smoke will have tried many times to quit smoking and been unsuccessful.

“For that reason, it is important that there are a number of different options available to help somebody quit, which could encourage them to keep trying.

“Although nicotine vapes are unlikely to be completely risk-free, they are less harmful than smoking and that is the most important comparison to make for people who are still smoking tobacco.”

Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, senior author of the review from University of Massachusetts Amherst in the US, said: “We have very strong evidence that regulated nicotine e-cigarettes are substantially less harmful than smoking.

“Based on the consistency of the findings here, it’s clear that they are a proven and viable option for people wishing to quit traditional cigarettes.”

The study also looked at adverse events linked to e-cigarettes when they are used for quitting smoking.

Researchers found that studies comparing vapes containing nicotine to patches and gum reported low numbers of unwanted effects, including serious adverse effects.

“It’s worth highlighting that our review looks at regulated e-cigarettes containing nicotine, but many of those available on the market do not meet these standards,” said Dr Hartmann-Boyce.

“Unlicensed e-cigarettes are potentially dangerous, with issues including unstable batteries and harmful chemicals.”

Dr Hartmann-Boyce added: “Anyone looking to use e-cigarettes to quit smoking should only purchase devices that have been tested and approved by their country’s regulatory body. Lists of regulated devices are available from the MHRA in the UK.”

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