Stopping Smoking - e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool

The case for e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool

There is a case for the effectiveness of e‐cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool compared to other cessation methods among adults in the United Kingdom to stop smoking for good.

Indeed, a recent study published on Tuesday 9th of March 2021 to commemorate No Smoking Day from Kings College London highlights the clear benefit of using e-cigarettes daily.

Their observation is that compared to other methods used to stop, e-cigarettes have higher efficacy, even greater than medication or nicotine replacement therapy.

Information About Electronic Cigarettes (E-Cigarettes)

Using Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), nicotine is delivered in vapour rather than in smoke.
• e-cigarettes are estimated to be 95% less harmful than ordinary cigarettes
The risk to others from the second-hand vapour of the e-cigarette is negligible
• Public understanding of the relative harms of e-cigarettes have worsened over time and are less accurate today than they were in 2014
• Almost all e-cigarette users in Britain are either ex-smokers or current smokers
• There is no evidence that the use of e-cigarettes is leading to an increase in smoking in young people in Great Britain
• E-cigarettes are regulated as consumer products under the UK Tobacco and Related Products Regulations
2016

e-Cigarette a.k.a Vape

An e-cigarette is a device that heats a liquid to create a vapour for the user to inhale. This is also known as vaping, and e-cigarettes are also known as vapes. There are many types of e-cigarette devices include pens, e-cigarettes (like JUUL), and hookahs. It has been argued that e-cigarettes are an essential aid to help people in their plan to cease smoking.

5 Interesting Things to Know About Vaping

1. Vaping is not entirely safe but much less harmful than smoking.

2. Research has shown that long term vaping activity is bad for the heart and lungs.

3. If the user is not curtailed, e-Cigarettes can be as addictive as traditional ones.

4. If used properly, e-Cigarettes can be a good smoking cessation tool.

5. The evolution of e-cigarettes brought about the no smell versions, which reduce the stigma of smoking.

Types and evolution of vapes over the years

Variants or classification of e-cigarettes

The disposable variant looks like a tobacco cigarette.
The refillable e-cigarettes that are larger and is refillable with e-liquid
Advanced versions with variable voltage and re-attachable parts to change the user’s look and feel as desired.
Some even have batteries that are recharged using the USB charger, and they are called Pod systems.

Differences between e-cigarettes and cigarettes

Known Health Risks

Many vaping products usually feature a liquid containing one-third to about half of the nicotine found in a cigarette. One five per cent strength JUULpod is designed to replace an entire pack of cigarettes in nicotine strength. Nevertheless, e-cigarette users still face many health and safety challenges.
Nicotine can harm the development of the adolescent brain, is one of the constituents of many e-cigarettes.
According to a recent CDC study, parts of the developing adolescent brain affected include Attention, Mood, Learning and Impulse control.

Is Vaping Better Than Smoking?

If you think, vaping is a healthier, safer or “better” alternative to smoking or you’re using e-cigarettes to try to quit smoking, think again. Vaping has many dangers and is considered a public health concern by W H O.

The health effects of long-term use of e-cigarettes are not well understood yet. But the science clearly indicates switching to vaping is not a healthy alternative to smoking.

There is a lot of research on the health consequences of this and other tobacco product trends that aim to appeal to a new generation of users.

Findings of the e-cigarette as a smoking cessation tool study

Findings of the first e-cigarette as a smoking cessation tool study

A recent study on the effectiveness of e‐cigarettes to stop smoking compared to other cessation methods among adults in the United Kingdom.
The study was published on Tuesday 9th of March 2021 to commemorate No Smoking Day, from Kings College London, highlights the clear benefit of using e-cigarettes daily. They contend that compared to other methods of stopping the use of e-cigarettes, they have higher efficacy, even greater than medication or nicotine replacement therapy.

Incidentally, the number of people who smoke has continued to decline in the last few years. Yet, still, the highest number of death from preventable cause is attributed to tobacco smoking.

E-cigarettes have been in use for about two decades, and there is evidence of their effectiveness in helping people stop smoking.

The findings of recent studies have not been consistent or still unable to show whether the frequency or quantity of use or the variants of e-cigarettes is significant factors in efforts to quit smoking.

In their study funded by Cancer Research Uk, the King’s College, London researchers analysed data from an online survey of more than 1100+ people, including smokers, ex-smokers who had quit within one year before completing the survey e-cigarette users.

Five waves of data were collected. The research involved analysing the effectiveness of e-cigarettes in aiding smoking cessation for a minimum of thirty days at follow-up and at least thirty days of cessation between the first survey and subsequent follow-up waves.

The study later featured in the recently published journal named “Addiction”, the research found that daily usage of an e-cigarette by individuals who wanted to stop smoking was five times more likely to successfully abstain from smoking tobacco for one month or thirty days, compared to those not using any quitting aids.

Likewise, individuals who used a disposable or cartridge e-cigarette daily were three times more likely to stop smoking for one month than those using no quit smoking aids.

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Findings of the second e-cigarettes as a cessation tool study on stop smoking

Cancer Research UK also sponsored this research.

A new study from a team of our scientists at U C L helps rest these fears. And depending on how you define ‘long-term’, the findings are the most convincing evidence to date that e-cigarettes are far safer than smoking.

E-cigarettes, on the other hand, do not contain tobacco. Instead, they carry a nicotine-containing liquid which is heated into a vapour and breathed in.

The nicotine satisfies the cravings associated with a smoking addiction but doesn’t cause cancer.

Organisations are still wrangling over the efficacy of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool.

WHO

Therefore, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is very concerned about refillable e-cigarettes, as these could enable the smoker to add harmful substances or higher levels of nicotine.

However, because the study has shown that refillable e-cigarette types are very effective when used daily as quitting aid, it has been suggested by numerous others that W H O should not ignore this evidence when issuing any forthcoming guidance around their use.
This suggestion pits the scientists against W H O, and the controversy continues.

ASH on e-cigarette as a smoking cessation tool

While evidence of the relatively low health risks posed by e-cigarettes has grown over time, so has a public misunderstanding of these risks.

Using e-cigarettes is considerably less harmful than smoking tobacco cigarettes.

The harm from tobacco is overwhelmingly due to its combustion; tobacco smoke contains many toxicants that can be highly damaging to smokers’ health. E-cigarette vapour, in contrast, does not include any combustible by-products, as there is no combustion in the process of heating e-liquids.

The assessment by Public Health England is that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking: “Vaping poses only a small fraction of the risks of smoking, and switching completely from smoking to vaping conveys substantial benefits over continued smoking.”

These findings are consistent with that of the Royal College of Physicians (RCGP) in 2016 that “the hazard to health arising from long-term vapour inhalation from the e-cigarettes available today is unlikely to exceed 5% of the harm from smoking tobacco”.

The lifetime cancer risk of vaping has been assessed to be under 0.5% of the risk of smoking normal tobacco.

The British Medical Association has also stated that “there is a growing consensus the use of e-cigarettes is significantly less harmful than smoking”.

Cancer Research on e-cigarette as a cessation tool

They asserted that studies have confirmed that e-cigarettes are far safer than smoking if used as a cessation aid.
Furthermore, according to them, many successful quitters have managed to ditch the cigs by using both e-cigarette and specialist support.

NHS

In the UK, e-cigarettes have increasingly become a popular smoking cessation aid.

E-cigarettes, also known as vapes, are far less harmful than cigarettes and help people stop smoking for good.

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E-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool, the Conclusions.

Therefore based on all the facts and figures available currently, we can summarise that:

Kids, young people and pregnant women should not use or be exposed to e-cigarettes.

People trying to quit smoking or using tobacco products should try proven tobacco cessation therapies before considering e-cigarettes, which have not been proven beyond all reasonable doubt to be effective.

People who do not currently smoke or use tobacco products should not use e-cigarettes.

The case for the effectiveness of e‐cigarettes for use in smoking cessation can be stated as follows.

Everyday use of e-cigarettes was also more effective for quitting than other evidence-based methods of quitting – including nicotine replacement therapy, medication such as bupropion or varenicline, or any combination of these aids.

Dr Máirtín McDermott, a Research Fellow at Kings College London National Addiction Centre and lead author of the study, said: “Our results show that when used daily, e-cigarettes help people to quit smoking, compared to smokers with no help at all.

These findings also agree with earlier studies, revealing that e-cigarettes are a more efficient for quitting than nicotine replacement therapy and prescribed medication.

It s important that we routinely measure how often people use e-cigarettes, as we’ve seen that more sporadic use at follow up – specifically of refillable types – was not associated with abstinence.

Despite the World Health Organization s W H O cautious s t a n c e on e-cigarettes, studies like this show they c a n n o t be e x c l u d e d from the list of effective smoking cessation aids available.

 

 

What are Your thoughts on an e-cigarette as a smoking cessation tool?

Thanks for reading this far. The question for you; What are your immediate thoughts about this?

Do leave a comment below.

 

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