Does the e-cigarette really play a role in smoking cessation? An American researcher conducted a randomized study on the subject.
Do e-cigarettes really help people quit smoking? Can electronic nicotine distribution really help fill the gap in combustible cigarettes? This is the subject of a study led by Matthew Carpenter, researcher and expert in smoking and drug addiction at the Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina. Posted in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention last November, it was one of the few randomized studies in the United States to have examined the effects of electronic cigarettes.
Matthew Carpenter has studied electronic cigarettes in terms of nicotine use, behavior, and consumption. A total of 68 smokers were evaluated: 46 were randomized to use e-cigarettes as they liked, with more or less low doses of nicotine, and 22 were randomized to a control group. All were followed for 4 months.
Ultimately, the researcher realized that when smokers received electronic cigarettes without any instructions or specific conditions of use, it was easy for them to adopt the procedure. Some even bought their own e-cigarettes. A sign that these products would be a good alternative to combustible tobacco. According to the results of the study, subjects who vape smoked an average of 37% less cigarettes than smokers in the control group and were more likely to quit permanently. “Combustible cigarettes are the most harmful form of nicotine delivery, and the alternative delivery of nicotine through e-cigarettes could significantly reduce the risk of cancer and other illnesses for smokers,” said Matthew Carpenter.
In France, vapers are more and more numerous
In 2015, it was estimated at 12 million, or more than a quarter of the French population (25.7%), the number of smokers who have already used an e-cigarette. In October 2016, the Public Health France agency published a study on tobacco consumption in France, also arguing that the use of electronic cigarettes was a good alternative.
Published in the Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin (BEH), the report entitled “Smoking in France: behaviors, attributable mortality and evaluation of withdrawal aids” revealed that the number of vapers also smoking combustible cigarettes between 2014 and 2015 had increased. from 82% to 71%, or had fallen by 11%. “This suggests a potential effectiveness of the e-cigarette in stopping, at least temporarily, tobacco, conclude the epidemiologists. Some recent studies have also estimated that vaping is an effective means of reducing the prevalence of smoking in countries where this prevalence is high, specifies the public health agency “.
Today, more than 3 million French people vape, including 1.5 million on a daily basis. The electronic cigarette business, introduced in Europe ten years ago, has continued to grow ever since.
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