Vaping can help people successfully quit smoking, and is a contributing factor in the decline in the number of smokers in the UK and US, according to a recent study.
The report, published in the British Medical Journal, claims that e-cigarette users are significantly more likely (65%) to try and quit smoking than non-users (45%), and they are more likely to find success in their attempt to remain smoke-free for at least three months.
In a large study, which surveyed 161,054 people in the US over a span of nearly 15 years, researchers found the use of e-cigarettes was linked to a “statistically significant increase in the smoking cessation rate at the population level”. However, the scientists do note that not all of the reduction in the number of smokers could be put down to the rise of vaping, with increased awareness and anti-smoking campaigns and support systems also proving useful.
The findings follow a number of other studies in recent years, including a 2015 independent evidence review by Public Health England and a 2016 Royal College of Physicians report, both of which found that “vaping is around 95% less harmful than smoking” and that e-cigarettes “appear to be effective when used by smokers as an aid to quitting smoking”.
The evidence has resulted in the NHS encouraging smokers to use vaping as a tool to help them quit. According to the NHS Smokefree website, e-cigarettes “carry a fraction of the risk of cigarettes and can be particularly effective when combined with extra quitting support”.
Nonetheless, vaping is not without flaws and the practice does carry its own risks. Studies have linked it with gum disease, cancer, and heart disease. Moreover, e-cigarettes are tightly regulated in the UK for health and safety purposes, but that is not the case everywhere else, with vape pen explosions a rare but real concern.
There are also fears that vaping could act as a gateway for young people to start smoking tobacco. Public health England says only 0.3 percent of adult vapers have never (previously) smoked, but a study from the University of Sterling found that “e-cigarette use may encourage experimentation with tobacco”.
Whilst the best option for your health is to never try a cigarette of the combustible or electronic variety at all, a large number of studies have now found e-cigarettes to be less harmful than tobacco, which makes them worthy of further study as a method of helping people quit.
Photograph by Max Knoxville