Smokeless cigarettes help quitters
A study conducted at the University of Auckland’s Clinical Trials Research Unit has provided the first evidence that nicotine delivered via ‘e-cigarette’ can help reduce the desire to smoke.
E-cigarettes are electronic nicotine delivery devices that resemble cigarettes but do not use tobacco. They release a small dose of nicotine with each ‘puff’.
The e-cigarettes tested appeared to be as effective as a standard nicotine replacement therapy inhalator in reducing the desire to smoke and relieving cigarette withdrawal symptoms.
The results indicated that e-cigarettes have potential as a method to help people stop smoking, in the same ways as a nicotine inhalator.
E-cigarettes are popular in the United States and Asia where people report buying them to reduce the cost of smoking, cut down on cigarette consumption, use in smokefree places, relieve tobacco withdrawal symptoms, or help quit smoking. But this is the first reputable clinical study to actually examine their effect on smokers.
However further studies are required to examine the potential and safety of long-term e-cigarette use, and a large clinical trial would be needed to determine their effectiveness in helping people stop smoking.
The research was published in the journal Tobacco Control.
