![]() ![]() “Smokers trying to quit have been choosing e-cigarettes over other types of support for some time. ![]() All stop-smoking services should welcome smokers who want to quit with the help of an e-cigarette,” said Martin Dockrell, tobacco control lead at Public Health England. “This landmark research shows that switching to an e-cigarette can be one of the most effective ways to quit smoking, especially when combined with face-to-face support. Public Health England and many UK scientists involved in tobacco research have strongly supported the potential of e-cigarettes to help people quit. “They will get quite a bit of benefit in that they will avoid feeling miserable and having urges to smoke and feeling there is something missing in their life and they will not put on weight, which these type of heavy smokers do, which puts them at risk of diabetes and so on.” “Now the positive aspect is that we know from studies of nicotine replacement therapy that some heavy smokers need that crutch for longer to protect them from relapse. They are unlikely to have more than about 5% of the risks of smoking but there is still some risk and if using it for one year means that they are using it for 30 years and if that generates some health risk then they would be better off not using it. The negative one is they are still using something and e-cigarettes are unlikely to be totally safe. “There are both sides to it and I think the beneficial side is stronger. “I think one can see it as potentially problematic and also potentially beneficial,” said Hajek. Vapers reported more throat and mouth irritation, but nicotine replacement therapy users reported more nausea.Īt the end of the year, nearly 80% – the vast majority – of those using e-cigarettes were still vaping, whereas only 9% of the other group were still using gum and other forms of nicotine replacement therapy. The early problems smokers experience when trying to give up, such as irritability and inability to concentrate, were lower in those using e-cigarettes. “Although a large number of smokers report that they have quit smoking successfully with the help of e-cigarettes, health professionals have been reluctant to recommend their use because of the lack of clear evidence from randomised controlled trials. Hajek believes the results could change the advice smokers are given. It is the first trial to compare the licensed quitting aids with e-cigarettes, which are not licensed for medical use. At the end of the year, 18% of the vapers were no longer smoking, compared with almost 10% of the others. The mostly middle-aged smokers were randomly assigned to be given an e-cigarette starter kit or nicotine replacement therapy such as patches, lozenges, sprays or gum. Their research is published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Prof Peter Hajek from Queen Mary University of London led a randomised controlled trial to establish whether e-cigarettes were a better aid to quitting than nicotine replacement therapy. ![]()
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