Electronic cigarettes help people trying to quit smoking, according to a new study that helps to settle a long-running debate over the risks and benefits of e-cigs.
For the study, published today in the journal BMJ, researchers analyzed survey data from over 160,000 people spanning almost 15 years. They found that smokers who used e-cigs tried to quit smoking more often and succeeded (for at least three months) more often than smokers who didn’t use e-cigs. Overall, more people quit in the latest year that data was available - the 2014–15 year - than in the 2010–11 year.
E-cigarettes vaporize liquid nicotine, so they deliver the drug directly instead of burning tobacco and creating tar, which has cancer-causing chemicals. As vaping becomes more popular, there’s been a lot of debate over the role of e-cigs. Some say that they’re healthier than actual cigarettes, but others argue that their popularity lures nonsmokers into smoking, or that people think it’s healthy so they try less hard to quit.
Even if they’re “healthier” than regular cigarettes, e-cigs still aren’t great: cancer-causing chemicals have been found in e-cigs, and vaping might still increase your risk of heart disease. Attitudes also vary geographically. The United Kingdom has been very supportive of e-cigs as smoking-cessation tools, while the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has instead focused on their potential dangers. Read more
For the study, published today in the journal BMJ, researchers analyzed survey data from over 160,000 people spanning almost 15 years. They found that smokers who used e-cigs tried to quit smoking more often and succeeded (for at least three months) more often than smokers who didn’t use e-cigs. Overall, more people quit in the latest year that data was available - the 2014–15 year - than in the 2010–11 year.
E-cigarettes vaporize liquid nicotine, so they deliver the drug directly instead of burning tobacco and creating tar, which has cancer-causing chemicals. As vaping becomes more popular, there’s been a lot of debate over the role of e-cigs. Some say that they’re healthier than actual cigarettes, but others argue that their popularity lures nonsmokers into smoking, or that people think it’s healthy so they try less hard to quit.
Even if they’re “healthier” than regular cigarettes, e-cigs still aren’t great: cancer-causing chemicals have been found in e-cigs, and vaping might still increase your risk of heart disease. Attitudes also vary geographically. The United Kingdom has been very supportive of e-cigs as smoking-cessation tools, while the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has instead focused on their potential dangers. Read more