A 2017 European study concluded that vaping does not help individuals quit smoking. Instead, researchers said, it’s likely these individuals become “dual-users.” published in PLOS One contends that vaping helps almost nobody to quit smoking.
Does vaping help you quit smoking?
You might have heard that smoking electronic cigarettes, or vaping, could help smokers eventually kick the habit. But research on the subject is mixed. While e-cigarettes contain fewer chemicals than conventional cigarettes, e-cigs carry their own health risks. Vaping was designed to be addictive. How does vaping work?
Is vaping safer than smoking?
There seems to be general agreement that vaping (the term often used to describe use of e-cigarettes) is safer than smoking cigarettes. That said, vaping can cause mouth or throat irritation, nausea, and coughing, and the long-term effects are not yet known.
Are e-cigarettes a viable way to quit smoking?
"It appears, at least for some people, e-cigarettes are a viable method of quitting that looks comparable to, if not better than, traditional nicotine replacement therapy," said Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor of community health sciences at Boston University School of Public Health, who had no part in the study.
What are the health risks of vaping?
Vapors from e-cigarettes may contain cancer-causing toxins, metals, and lung irritants. Vaping raises risk for lung diseases, such as emphysema, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It’s also linked to an increased risk of heart attacks.
Why do people pick up e-cigarettes?
You see some cigarette smokers pick up e-cigarettes for convenience, because of course cigarette smoking is not permissible in many areas, particularly inside, in stadiums, and so on. So for some people, it’s just a matter of convenience, for others, they’ve tried FDA-approved devices and therapeutics and they’re having trouble quitting, and they resort to e-cigarettes because of the satisfaction they feel with these products.
Do e-cigarettes help smokers quit?
Andrew Stokes: Well, thank you for having me, it’s a real pleasure to be here. In theory, e-cigarettes may help some smokers to quit. In particular, it may be an alternative for people who’ve tried other FDA-approved measures, such as nicotine replacement, and have failed with those solutions.
Is the FDA moving to get tobacco flavors off the market?
So, it does appear that the FDA has decisively moved to get flavors off the market. The caveat to that is that ultimately all devices are flavored in one way or another. One might say that even tobacco flavors will have appeal to youth. And in that sense, we’re certainly not in the clear even with these new decisions that have come through.
Do people use e-cigarettes?
The issue is that today at the population level in the United States, most people who are taking up e-cigarettes are switching to dual use of both cigarettes and e-cigarettes. While they may be reducing their cigarette consumption, we are seeing very few people in the population of cigarette smokers who are entirely switching from one device to the other.
Can Vaping Help You Quit Smoking?
With research and debate continuing about whether using e-cigarettes can actually help a person quit smoking traditional cigarettes, BU Today spoke with Andrew Stokes, a BU School Public Health assistant professor of global health.
Does vaping help with smoking?
To address that, Beard explains that vaping also helps mimic the behavioral aspects of smoking — in particular, the hand to mouth movement. A 2019 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine backs up that aspect of its efficacy: That trial found that vaping did help people quit smoking over the course of a year and was more effective than traditional nicotine replacement when it was combined with behavioral support.
Can e-cigarettes help smokers quit smoking?
Some researchers say that e-cigarette’s ability to help smokers quit it’s a far more complicated picture . Scott Weaver, Ph.D., a professor of public health at Georgia State, explains that there’s insufficient evidence to say for sure because different kinds of studies often find different results.
How does vaping work?
E-cigarettes, or e-cigs, are battery-powered devices that release a vapor of flavored nicotine from a liquid heated by a coil. Traditional cigarettes, on the other hand, release smoke from burned tobacco and contain about 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds of these chemicals have been proven harmful. E-cigs contain fewer chemicals than conventional cigarettes, but those chemicals can also potentially negatively impact your health.
Why are e-cigarettes bad?
E-cigarettes are appealing for harm reduction, or the idea that addicts should reduce harm if they cannot quit altogether. But e-cigs contain dangerous chemicals like diacetyl and vitamin E acetate, which can injure lungs, and heavy metals like lead.
How many people quit smoking with e-cigarettes?
A 2019 study found that 19 percent of participants who used e-cigs to quit smoking were no longer smoking a year later, while those who used nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches and gum, quit smoking at a rate of 9 percent.
Do e-cigarettes depend on nicotine?
In another 2019 study, e-cig smokers and dual smokers – those who smoke both e-cigs and conventional cigarettes – were more dependent on nicotine than conventional cigarette smo kers. The convenience of e-cigarettes, which are often allowed indoors, might make it difficult for smokers to resist them.
What are the health concerns of e-cigarettes?
E-cigarettes raise a number of health and safety concerns. E-cigarettes have been the subject of several public health warnings from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). These include warnings about lung disease and injury, second-hand smoke, device explosions, ...
Can vaping help you quit smoking?
Could e-cigs and vaping help you quit smoking altogether? The research is mixed. You might have heard that smoking electronic cigarettes, or vaping, could help smokers eventually kick the habit. But research on the subject is mixed. While e-cigarettes contain fewer chemicals than conventional cigarettes, e-cigs carry their own health risks.
Can e-cigarettes harm pregnant women?
E-cigarette vapor is akin to secondhand smoke from traditional cigarettes in that it can also harm bystanders, including pregnant women. Some advocates say e-cigs could save smokers from the dangers of combustion, or the burning chemicals in conventional cigarettes, and that alone is worth giving them a try.
What would happen if I didn't vape?
“If it wasn’t for vaping, I would have died from smoking cigarettes. Vaping has given me the opportunity to live longer and enjoy my children,” one such testimonial reads.
How many people still smoke after vaping?
Survey data results found that 90 percent of smokers who vaped at the beginning of the study were still smoking one year later.
Why is Conley skeptical?
Conley cited the study’s limitations — including selection bias — as reason to be skeptical.
What should be considered in cessation plans to increase the success of quitting?
The study suggests behavioral therapy and alternative interventions should be considered in cessation plans to increase the success of quitting.
Can vaping help you quit smoking?
The debate continues to flare over whether using e-cigarettes can help you quit smoking tobacco products. Share on Pinterest. While federal regulators have not approved vaping as a smoking cessation aid, it is nonetheless marketed by some as a life-saving strategy for smokers trying to quit.
Does ASH recommend vaping?
ASH has yet to take a definitive stand on e-cigarettes, but Bostic says he personally recommends vaping as a cessation tool.
Is e-cigarettes bad for health?
And most people will be using e-cigarettes who were smokers before and are also continuing to smoke cigarettes, so there is no positive health impact that way because cigarettes do the damage on health very early on .”. The issue, again, is about relative risk and the potential for individuals to become dual users.
How much more likely is it to quit smoking if you use e-cigarettes?
The study found that people who wanted to quit smoking were about 60 percent more likely to succeed if they used e-cigarettes compared to would-be quitters who tried an anti-smoking nicotine patch or gum.
What does Siegel believe about e-cigarettes?
Siegel believes the benefits of giving up cigarettes outweigh the risks posed by e-cigarettes.
Is smoking a hard habit to beat?
Smoking is a notoriously tough habit to beat, however, and quit rates were still low: Only one-fifth of people who tried e-cigarettes as a stop-smoking aid succeeded in quitting long-term, the study found.
Is the FDA regulating e-cigarettes?
Last month, the FDA proposed long-awaited regulations governing the electronic cigarette industry. The new rules would give the FDA authority to regulate e-cigarettes as tobacco products, placing them under the same requirements as cigarettes.
Can e-cigarettes help with smoking cessation?
Results of other studies on e-cigarettes' potential as a smoking-cessation aid have been mixed, however.
Did the researchers look at people who used e-cigarettes?
However, Siegel said the new study is different because the researchers didn't just look at people who used e-cigarettes, but at those who used them specifically to quit.
Is it safe to smoke e-cigarettes?
However, toxicity tests indicate they are safer than regular cigarettes, according to prior studies.