E-cigarettes and quitting

Electronic cigarettes help smokers quit and increase the number of people who halve cigarette consumption, according to a Cochrane review of 13 studies.

Two randomised controlled trials (RCT) encompassing 662 patients compared e-cigarettes with placebo devices that did not deliver nicotine. Both RCTs assessed early e-cigarette models that delivered relatively low levels of nicotine. Thus, the results may not apply to newer devices that deliver nicotine more effectively. Nevertheless, e-cigarette users were about twice as likely to abstain from smoking for at least six months (9%) than placebo users (4%; relative risk [RR] 2.29).

Another study compared e-cigarettes to nicotine patches. The 26% difference in people using e-cigarettes during six months of abstinence did not reach statistical significance. More people at least halved cigarette consumption with e-cigarettes than placebo (36% and 27% respectively; RR 1.31) and patch (61% and 44% respectively; RR 1.41).