According to the CDC, around 11% of tobacco users in the U.S. are cigarette smokers. Now with the dangers of smoking cigarettes plastered everywhere, including on cigarette products, many have switched to vaping.
This change is due to two reasons. The first is the perception of vaping aiding in smoking cessation, and the second is that it is less harmful. Unfortunately, this perception does not reflect reality, as past research has highlighted the potential dangers of vaping. Now, a recent study has suggested that vaping may not help one kick their cigarette smoking habit.
Will Vaping Help You Quit Smoking Cigarettes?
Smoking kills, and an important public health goal is to curb this habit that some people simply canโt kick. Unfortunately, this desire has led to the promotion of e-cigarettes as a viable way to achieve the goal. Yet, how fool-proof is this plan?
This article looks at a group of researchers from the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science and Moores Cancer Center at the University of California San Diego who are set to answer this question.
ย โMost smokers think vaping will help you quit smoking,โ explained study co-author John P. Pierce, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor in theย Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health. โHowever, this belief is not supported by science to date.โ
โWhile some researchers have suggested that smokers who switch to daily vaping will be more successful in quitting smoking, we studied quitting success among both daily and non-daily vapers and came up with a quite definitive answer.โ
For the study, Pierce and his team examined 6,013 U.S. cigarette smokers and compared them with 943 smokers who also vaped.
Vaping Will Not Help You Quit Smoking Cigarettes
According to the findings, published in JAMA Network, individuals who vape daily were 4.1% less successful at quitting smoking, and occasional vape users were 5.3% less successful.
Yet, the study noted that the smoking cessation rate for non-vapers was 14.3%.
Considering the continuous insinuation by various vaping companies that their products are a gateway to smoking cessation, these findings are astonishing.
Speaking on the studyโs strengths, the researchers were able to control for a wide range of other variables for smoking cessation,
โFor example, if a smoker is already very interested in quitting, has a smoke-free home, and does not smoke daily, they are much more likely to successfully quit regardless of whether they vape or not,โ explained senior author Karen Messer, Ph.D., professor of biostatistics in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health.
โWe matched each smoker/vaper on such characteristics. You have to make very sure youโre comparing like with like, and thatโs why this analysis is so definitive.โ
After accounting for these factors, they were able to come to these findings, which is something previous studies had failed to do, and that may be why misconceptions about e-cigarettes continue to exist,
โAs the public health community continues to grapple with the complexities of tobacco control, it is essential that we rely on rigorous scientific evidence to inform our policies and interventions.โ – Karen Messer, Ph.D.
โOur research shows that misleading associations between vaping and smoking cessation routinely occur unless confounding characteristics are carefully accounted for,โ added Messer.
Vaping Health Risks
โThe adverse health effects of cigarette smoking become obvious after people have smoked for 20 years. While vapes generally donโt contain the same harmful chemicals as cigarette smoke, they have other risks, and we just donโt yet know what the health consequences of vaping over 20 to 30 years will be.โ – John P. Pierce
While the findings provide that vaping is not an effective tool for cigarette cessation, itโs also important to highlight the health consequences that come with e-cigarettes. While the long-term effects of vaping are yet to be understood, there are already several areas of concern about its potential health impacts, which weโve outlined below:
- Doja Cat: Vaping Affected My Voice, Leading to Tonsil Surgery
- Vaping May Cause Lung and Heart Disease, Warns American Heart Association
- The Link Between Vaping and Heart Failure
- Vaping Additives Harm Lung Function
- Concordia Research Confirms Vaping Additives Harm a Vital Membrane in the Lungs
Quitting Electronic and Traditional Cigarettes
While cigarette smoking may be on the decline, the use of electronic cigarettes continues to rise, so itโs critical to find ways to promote the cessation of both traditional and electronic cigarettes.
A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, and funded by the American Heart Association (AHA) identified โquitlinesโ – effective e-cigarette cessation interventions. They found that these quitliness resulted in 45% of all participants quitting vaping and continuing to be abstinent for three months beyond the conclusion of the trial.
Quitlines include:
- a combination of coaching
- text-based links to resources such as videos, podcasts, and online educational materials
- nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), which were shipped to study participants
While the study only focused on vaping cessation, the aforementioned tips can also help to achieve cigarette smoking cessation. ย That said, if you really want to quit traditional cigarettes, put down the vape and read these seven ways to quit smoking now.
