U.S. adults who use e-cigarettes daily and smoke combustible cigarettes may be more likely to quit smoking traditional cigarettes compared with those who smoke but use e-cigarettes less frequently, according to a recent study published by Kasza et al in JAMA Network Open. The findings suggest that daily e-cigarette use may help some patients to quit smoking combustible cigarettes.
Study Methods and Results
In this study, investigators analyzed data collected for the PATH Study between 2014 and 2021, a time during which the available options of e-cigarettes changed. They tracked 1,985 U.S. adults to determine whether characteristics of e-cigarettes—including frequency of use, flavor type, and type of device—were associated with the likelihood of traditional smoking cessation.
The investigators revealed that daily vs nondaily use of e-cigarettes was linked to higher overall rates of quitting combustible cigarettes (12.8% vs 6.1%). The adults who used e-cigarettes in 2019 were more likely to stop smoking traditional cigarettes compared with those who used the e-cigarettes between 2014 and 2015 (12.0% vs 5.3%). There was limited evidence that flavor or device type impacted cigarette cessation.
Conclusions
“Our study shows that adults who smoke cigarettes and use newer e-cigarettes have higher cigarette quit rates than those who used e-cigarettes in the past,” emphasized lead study author Karin Kasza, PhD, Assistant Professor of Oncology in the Department of Health Behavior at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Our findings are consistent with earlier evidence that sufficient nicotine replacement can be helpful for quitting smoking. Recent guidance from the Center for Tobacco Products indicates the importance of switching completely away from combustible cigarettes for those who are also using e-cigarettes,” she added.
Separate studies have shown that newer e-cigarettes may deliver higher doses of nicotine more efficiently, which could explain the recent findings. The investigators acknowledged that more frequent use of e-cigarettes may also reflect greater determination to quit smoking combustible cigarettes. They noted that their study did not evaluate the risks of youth e-cigarette use.
“Since there is no safe tobacco product, eventual abstinence from all tobacco products is the end goal,” concluded senior study author Andrew Hyland, PhD, Chair of Health Behavior at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Disclosure: The research in this study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Tobacco Products. For full disclosures of the study authors, visit jamanetwork.com.
