Do Vapes Help People Quit Smoking?

The only answer at this point is maybe. In the most recent review of the literature, population-based studies that rely on surveys and questionnaires suggest that vaping helps; the problem is that while they tells us something about the population as a whole, it tells us nothing about an individual. We’re still missing randomized placebo-controlled trials. The placebos wouldn’t have to have zero nicotine but should have a variety of doses to assess the best dose of nicotine for quitting; after all, nicotine patches and nicotine gum have been available for decades and have proven to be only 7% effective over a year.

The premise of vaping is that it’s healthier than smoking cigarettes. Is it? When you consider the hundreds if not thousands of chemicals released from tobacco cigarettes, the answer would be yes. Switching from cigarettes to vapes is better from that perspective. But does vaping really help people quit smoking?

One of the characteristics of recent electronic nicotine-delivery systems is the use of liquids with higher doses of nicotine, close to what is found in cigarettes. It may take these higher doses to help people quit smoking.

What are you prepared to do today?

After they quit smoking cigarettes, how long does it last? Research from the United Kingdom suggests that vaping help smokers quit with the use of traditional quit-smoking programs. The long-term effectiveness remains unknown. Which raises the second question: are people able to get off nicotine altogether? I’ll talk about that on Saturday.

        Dr. Chet

References:

1. Ther Adv Respir Dis. 2018 .doi: 10.1177/1753465817744960.
2. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD010216.pub3.