Over 2 million teens vape 1:12
(CNN) -
Using e-cigarettes and other tobacco products to avoid relapsing to cigarette smoking does not appear to be effective, according to a new longitudinal study of nearly 13,000 smokers in the United States.
"This is the first study to report on whether cigarette smokers can switch to e-cigarettes without relapse," said study author John Pierce, professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California Institute of Public Health. in San Diego.
"Quitting completely is the single most important thing a smoker can do to improve their health," he said in a statement accompanying the study, "but the evidence indicates that the switch to e-cigarettes made it less likely, not more likely, to quit. of smoking".
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The study did not look at the use of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) designed to help people quit smoking, Pierce told CNN.
These therapies include patches, gum, and lozenges that contain limited amounts of nicotine.
"This document does not focus on attempts to quit smoking," Pierce said.
"It focuses on people who seem to have been successful in quitting cigarettes and whether those who switched to an alternative nicotine source, which is not usually the case with NRTs, do better than those who abstain from nicotine."
Using e-cigarettes as an aid against smoking
E-cigarettes are increasingly being used as an alternative to nicotine, as smokers find a way to kick the habit, and stay away from cigarettes forever.
Electronic cigarettes work by heating a pure liquid called "e-juice" made up of flavorings, propylene glycol, glycerin, and often nicotine until it vaporizes.
The use of vaping to quit smoking became especially popular in the UK after a study found that e-cigarettes helped between 50,000 and 70,000 users in England to quit smoking in 2017.
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Vaping supposedly removes the 7,000 or more chemicals found in traditional cigarettes and their smoke, many of which are toxic, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
But its use has become controversial in the United States and other countries due to warnings about possible long-term health effects, possibly from ingredients other than nicotine in the cartridge.
The director general of Health of the USA affirms that the vapers can contain "ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep in the lungs, flavorings like diacetyl, a chemical linked to serious lung diseases, volatile organic compounds and heavy metals, like nickel, tin and lead. "
Additionally, numerous studies found that teen use is a direct gateway to traditional smoking, at a time when youth use of e-cigarettes skyrocketed.
A 2019 outbreak of a mysterious lung disease related to vaping among young Americans also sounded alarms.
As of February 2020, the condition had killed at least 68 people and sickened more than 2,807, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
More than 2,000 cases of sick from vaping in the US 0:33
An 18-year-old American who vaped for more than a year ended up in hospital with "lungs like those of a 70-year-old."
The condition, now known as EVALI (vaping or e-cigarette use associated lung injury) is strongly linked to e-cigarettes that contain vitamin E acetate, a sticky oily substance that can adhere to lung tissue.
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Almost 8% more likely to relapse
The new study, published Tuesday in the academic journal JAMA Network Open, analyzed data from smokers who had quit cigarettes.
The data was collected by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Center for Tobacco Products of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The study looked at whether smokers had quit with the help of other forms of tobacco, such as cigars, cigars, filter cigars, pipes, hookah, smokeless products like snuff, and any e-cigarette products.
The study then looked at relapse rates at two-year intervals.
"Our goal in this study was to assess whether recent ex-smokers who had switched to e-cigarettes or another tobacco product were less likely to relapse compared to those who were still not smoking," said lead author Karen Messer, head of the Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health.
The analysis revealed that 50% of ex-smokers who quit tobacco "suddenly" had quit cigarettes at the second annual follow-up, but only 41.5% of those who used any other form of tobacco, including e-cigarettes, they had successfully kicked the habit.
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"Those who switched to e-cigarettes (or another form of tobacco) were 8.5% more likely to relapse to cigarettes," Pierce said by email.
"If switching to e-cigarettes were a viable way to quit smoking, then those who switched to e-cigarettes should have much lower rates of relapse to cigarette use. We found no evidence for that," he said.
The authors state that more studies are needed to analyze how the use of e-cigarettes affects smoking cessation and relapse for longer periods.
"For e-cigarettes to really work in long-term smoking cessation, people need to quit completely," Pierce said.
"To date, researchers have not been able to show that smokers can do this."
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5 actions to quit smoking 0:55
The good news is that smokers can quit successfully.
In fact, the CDC says that there have been more "ex-smokers than current smokers" in the United States for a decade.
CDC offers free access to smoking cessation coaches, all former smokers, who help people set up a plan to quit smoking and provide information and access to nicotine replacement drugs and therapies, social support counseling and advice. on the use of supportive applications, websites and text messages.
The American Lung Association also has a website packed with tips and support online and in person for quitting smoking.
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