Titled, “E-cigarette use behaviors and device characteristics of daily exclusive e-cigarette users in Maryland: Implications for product toxicity,” the study recruited 100 daily exclusive e-cigarette users and 50 non-users from Maryland, between 2015 and 2017. Via interviews, the researchers collected data regarding sociodemographic characteristics, health status, patterns of vape-related behaviors, preferred device characteristics, and reasons for e-cigarette use.
“Most daily exclusive e-cigarette users were male men, White, former smokers, used MODs/tanks, and vaped on average 365 puffs/day (SD: 720). A third of users first vaped within 5 minutes of waking in the morning, and 56% vaped throughout the day. E-liquid consumption ranged from 5–240 mL/week (median: 32.5), with nicotine concentration 0–24 mg/mL (median: 3),” reported the researchers.
The findings also highlighted that vapers were more likely to report wheezing/whistling and hypertension than controls, however the finding was not statistically significant. Moreover, given that most vapers were ex-smokers it would be hard to determine whether these symptoms are a result of vaping or the previous smoking patterns. The researchers also found that most of the vapers had no intention of quitting.
E-cigarettes are more effective than NRTs for smoking cessation
Meanwhile, another recent study aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of electronic cigarettes as smoking cessation tools, in comparison to traditional NRTs, confirmed that quitting rates tend to be higher in people who use nicotine-containing e-cigarettes.
The Cochrane Review titled, “Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation,” looked through research in order to evaluate the effect and safety of using electronic cigarettes (ECs) to help people who smoke achieve long‐term smoking abstinence.
The researchers looked through randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and randomized cross‐over trials in which smokers were split into two groups (an EC or control condition). The studies (50 completed studies, representing 12,430 participants) included in the review, had to report abstinence from cigarettes at six months or longer and/or data on adverse events (AEs) or other markers of safety at one week or longer.
In line with previous findings, the researchers concluded that EC’s lead to more successful quit attempts. “There is moderate‐certainty evidence that ECs with nicotine increase quit rates compared to ECs without nicotine and compared to NRT. Evidence comparing nicotine EC with usual care/no treatment also suggests benefit, but is less certain.”
New Study Looks at Levels of Smoking Abstinence Achieved Via Vaping
