Quitting smoking: E-cigarettes help even without counseling, UK study finds
In a Queen Mary University of London trial of 1,170 smokers, an e-cigarette starter kit nearly doubled the chance of quitting compared with advice emails. Adding phone counseling boosted the effect further.
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Smokers who want to quit can benefit from e-cigarettes even without specialist counseling, according to a new study. The randomized trial by Queen Mary University of London, published in the journal NEJM Evidence and funded by the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), enrolled 1,170 adult smokers. They were assigned to one of three groups: automated emails from the UK stop-smoking program, an e-cigarette starter kit, or a starter kit plus five phone counseling sessions over four weeks.
Quitting was verified with a carbon monoxide breath test. After six months, 11.3% of the e-cigarette-only group had stopped smoking, compared with 21.1% of those who also received counseling and 6.4% of the email group, the study found. After 12 months, the shares were 9.0%, 16.8% and 5.4%. Smokers "don't necessarily need specialist counselling" to benefit from e-cigarettes, said lead author Katie Myers-Smith.
Follow-up lasted only one year, and the trial was conducted in Britain. More than two-thirds of successful quitters in the email group were also using e-cigarettes at six months. The authors stress that vaping is far less harmful than smoking but not risk-free; the study provides no data on long-term safety. This article is general information and does not replace medical advice.
This article is for information only and is not legal, tax, financial or medical advice. Figures as of the date stated.