Reuters: Type, frequency of e-cigarette use linked to quitting smoking

[Alex]

Type, frequency of e-cigarette use linked to quitting smoking
LONDON, April 21 | By Kate Kelland

(Reuters) - Two new studies looking at whether electronic cigarettes help smokers to quit their deadly habit have found that while some of them can, it depends on the type and how often it is used.

The research -- welcomed by experts in a field marked by a dearth of good scientific evidence and intense lobbying -- suggests daily use of so-called "tank" e-cigarettes, designed to be refilled with nicotine-containing liquids, is most likely to help smokers quit.

Many experts think e-cigarettes, which heat nicotine-laced liquid into an inhalable vapour, are a lower-risk alternative to smoking, but questions remain about their use and safety.

The charity Action on Smoking and Health says more than 2 million adults in Britain use e-cigarettes. So-called "cigalike" e-cigarettes are disposable or use replaceable cartridges, while "tank" models look quite different and have refillable containers of nicotine "e-liquid".

Researchers who conducted the two new studies, published in the journal Addiction and Nicotine & Tobacco, said they show that smokers wanting to use e-cigarettes to quit should use them daily and try "tanks" rather than "cigalikes".

"Our research indicates that daily use of tank models that can be refilled with liquid may give smokers a better chance of quitting smoking," Ann McNeill, a professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College London who was involved in both studies, told reporters.

The two studies were based on a survey of around 1,500 smokers in Britain in December 2012, followed up one year later.

The first found 65 percent of daily e-cigarette users in December 2012 tried to quit smoking in the next year compared with 44 percent of non-users. Some 14 percent of daily e-cigarette users had cut their consumption of tobacco cigarettes by at least 50 percent over the previous year, compared with only six percent of non-users.

In the second study, researchers found that of 587 people using e-cigarettes at the one year follow-up, 76 percent used "cigalikes" and 24 percent used "tank" models. Almost a third of daily tank users had quit smoking, compared with 13 percent of smokers not using e-cigarettes.

"At this point we don't know why people who use tank type e-cigarettes daily are more likely to have quit," said Sara Hitchman, who led the second study.

"Research suggests that tanks might deliver nicotine more effectively and perhaps be more satisfying ... but there may also be other factors, including price and the ways that tanks allow the user to adapt the product." (Editing by Janet Lawrence)

source:http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/20/health-ecigarettes-idUSL5N0XH2TJ20150420

 

[Alex]

E-cigarette users trying to quit smoking should vape every day, studies suggest
Researchers find those using e-cigarettes daily, especially ones with refillable tanks, made more effort to give up over a year than infrequent users

Sarah Boseley Health editor

Tuesday 21 April 2015 00.01 BST Last modified on Tuesday 21 April 2015 00.03 BST


People who take up e-cigarettes in an effort to stop smoking should consider upping the nicotine dose they get by using them daily, scientists have said.

Two new research papers suggest e-cigarettes may help smokers trying to kick the habit, but only if they are used every day, instead of infrequently. It may also be more beneficial to use the versions with refillable “tanks”, which could deliver a higher dose of nicotine.

There is much controversy around the potential for e-cigarettes to help people quit smoking, even though it is estimated that the devices are up to 95% less harmful than cigarette smoking. Some critics believe e-cigarettes are a stalking horse for the tobacco industry, which is now involved in manufacturing “cigalikes” – the type of e-cigarette that often resembles a standard cigarette.

Prof Ann McNeill of King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, where both studies were based, said: “Most smokers want to stop but are struggling, and disadvantaged and deprived groups are struggling most. If you are using an e-cigarette, use it more frequently and stop smoking cigarettes as fast as you can. If cigalikes don’t work, try something else.”

Neither of the papers proves e-cigarettes enable people to stop smoking, but they provide much-needed evidence that using e-cigarettes may help those who are trying to quit. E-cigarettes have taken off so fast – two million people now use them in the UK – that research into their impact has not been able to keep up.

The studies were based on a survey of more than 1,500 smokers in December 2012, which was then followed up on a year later. The first study, published in the journal Addiction, found that 65% of those who were using an e-cigarette on a daily basis went on to make an attempt to give up smoking within the year, compared with 44% of smokers who were not using e-cigarettes. There was no evidence that daily e-cigarette users were more likely to have managed to get rid of a tobacco habit by the end of a year, but 14% had reduced their tobacco consumption by at least half.

Lead author Dr Leonie Brose said: “We already know that using an e-cigarette in an attempt to quit smoking increases the chances of success compared to quitting without any support.

“This study did not test how helpful they are as quitting aids because we looked at smokers who were using them for any reason, including just to cut down on their smoking or in situations when they cannot smoke. But it is encouraging to see that even then, regular e-cigarette use was linked to reduced numbers of lethal cigarettes smoked and increased attempts to quit smoking in the following year.”

The second study, published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research, found that people trying to quit smoking were more successful if they used a refillable tank model of e-cigarette, which allows the user to vary the nicotine content and flavours in the liquid it contains. Only 25% of the 587 e-cigarette users had tank models which they used daily, but of these, 28% had given up tobacco smoking after a year compared with 13% of smokers who did not use e-cigarettes. The numbers who gave up while using cigalikes, or using tank models on an occasional basis, were similar to those who did not use e-cigarettes at all.

There's no evidence e-cigarettes are as harmful as smoking
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Only 5% of people using cigalikes infrequently had quit smoking after a year, which the researchers say is concerning given that most of the cigalike brands are manufactured by the tobacco industry.

Linda Bauld, a professor of health policy at the University of Stirling, said the studies made valuable contributions to the growing literature on e-cigarettes. She said: “What this new research tells us is what e-cigarette users already know. The type of device, how often it is used and how much nicotine it contains all matter. Some devices will be effective to help smokers quit and others less so. Future studies need to maintain this focus and not treat all e-cigarettes, or all users, the same.”

Martin McKee, a professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the papers “certainly serve as a very serious challenge to the view expressed stridently by the supporters of e-cigarettes that they are some remarkable disruptive innovation that will radically change tobacco control.

“Given the other concerns, not addressed by this study about the toxicity of long-term inhalation of nicotine and the flavourings contained in these products, it seems that the precautionary approach adopted by public health authorities in many countries remains justified.”

source: http://www.theguardian.com/society/...up-smoking-research-nicotine?CMP=share_btn_tw