Category Archives: smoking cessation

UK study shows nondaily ecig use associated with significantly less quitting cigs

A recent paper published in Addiction, “The effectiveness of using e-cigarettes for quitting smoking compared to other cessation methods among adults in the United Kingdom,” found that the odds of 30 day smoking cessation among smokers motivated to quit were cut by a factor or 4 among nondaily e-cig users compared to people who didContinue reading “UK study shows nondaily ecig use associated with significantly less quitting cigs”

US Preventive Services Task Force finds evidence on e-cigs as a medicine for quitting “insufficient”

I have written several times about the differences between e-cigarettes as a consumer product and as a cessation medicine. pointing out that population observational studies are relevant for e-cigarettes as a consumer product and randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are relevant for e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation therapy. Now the US Preventive Services Task Force, aContinue reading “US Preventive Services Task Force finds evidence on e-cigs as a medicine for quitting “insufficient””

Three years later the NASEM report on e-cigs is out of date

Physicians for a Smokefree Canada just released this blog post which is an excellent summary of how the state of knowledge has advanced substantially since the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine released its report on e-cigarettes in 2018. While the report was a good summary of the evidence when it was prepared, weContinue reading “Three years later the NASEM report on e-cigs is out of date”

E-cigs as consumer products don’t help smokers quit

Richard Wang, Sudha Bhadriraju and I just published a comprehensive meta-analysis of the association between e-cigarette use and smoking cessation, “E-Cigarette Use and Adult Cigarette Smoking Cessation: A Meta-Analysis,” in American Journal of Public Health. Unlisk earlier meta-analyses, we made a distinction between population observational studies, which are valuable for assessing the effects of e-cigarettesContinue reading “E-cigs as consumer products don’t help smokers quit”

If e-cigs are effective cessation aids, when will an e-cig company submit the needed evidence for FDA approval?

JAMA just published another randomized controlled trial, “Effect of e-cigarettes plus counseling vs counseling one on smoking cessation,” that found that giving smokers who were motivated to quit free NJOY e-cigs for 12 weeks together with intensive counseling led to significantly more quitting at 12 weeks than counseling alone. The effect faded by 24 weeks,Continue reading “If e-cigs are effective cessation aids, when will an e-cig company submit the needed evidence for FDA approval?”

Major EU scientific committee highlights e-cig dangers, gateway effect

On 23 September 2020, the European Commissions’ Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) issued its Preliminary Opinion on electronic cigarettes  at a request from the Commission “to assist the Commission in assessing the most recent scientific and technical information on e-cigarettes. Findings presented in the scientific opinion will feed into the Commission’sContinue reading “Major EU scientific committee highlights e-cig dangers, gateway effect”