According to a controversial study, vaping does not help teens quit smoking.
Researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed survey data from thousands of teenagers over two decades, tracking success rates in quitting smoking over time.
They say the proportion of teens who failed to kick the habit rose in 2020, despite a downward trend seen since the late 1990s.
A separate analysis of quit attempts found that quit attempts were twice as high as traditional cigarettes.
But experts strongly condemned the “imperfect” study, saying other, more robust evidence shows the gadgets are useful.
NHS regulators may soon approve e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool, allowing doctors to prescribe the devices to smokers.
American researchers found that the number of failed attempts to quit smoking and vaping among teenagers in 2020 was higher than in the case of traditional cigarettes over the past 13 years (image from file)
What is an electronic cigarette and how is it different from smoking tobacco?
An electronic cigarette (electronic cigarette) is a device that allows users to inhale nicotine by heating vapor from a solution containing nicotine, propylene and flavors.
Since there is no combustion, there is no smoke like a traditional cigarette.
But while they have been branded as less risky than cigarettes, a growing body of research shows health risks.
Electronic cigarettes do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, but the vapor contains some harmful chemicals.
Nicotine is highly addictive, making it difficult for smokers to quit.
E-cigarettes are used by nearly three million people in the UK and over nine million in the US.
TYPES:
1. Standard electronic cigarette
A battery powered device containing nicotine liquid for electronic cigarettes.
It vaporizes flavored nicotine liquid.
2. Jool
Very similar to conventional e-cigarettes, but with a sleeker design and higher nicotine concentration in the US. In the UK and EU it is limited to 20 mg/ml.
Manufacturers claim that thanks to the “nicotine salts” they contain, one pod contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes.
It consists of an e-cigarette (battery and temperature control) and an e-liquid capsule that is inserted at the end.
The e-liquid contains nicotine, chemicals and flavors.
Like other vaping devices, it vaporizes e-liquid.
3. IQOS by Philip Morris
Pen-shaped, charges like an iPod.
Evaporates tobacco.
It is known as a “heat it not burn” smokeless device, heating tobacco without burning it (at 350 °C compared to 600 °C for regular cigarettes).
The company claims that this method reduces users’ exposure to carcinogens when tobacco is burned.
Unsuccessful quit attempts by smokers are considered important in research on nicotine addiction because they “indicate a loss of autonomy”.
The scientists compared data from a survey on the smoking habits of 800,000 American schoolchildren collected between 1997 and 2020.
They recorded whether the teens ever smoked, whether they ever tried to quit, and whether they were successful in their attempts to quit.
While smoking cessation success rates have improved almost year-on-year over the past decade, that trend has reversed in 2020.
The bounce rate jumped to 2.2% in 2020 from 1.3% a year earlier.
When analyzing scores for e-cigarettes only, the researchers stated that 4.1% of attempts were unsuccessful.
This was lower than the successful cessation rates for traditional cigarettes in every study year since 2006.
Lead author Dr. Richard Meech said the results are important given the rise in vaping.
He said: “The contribution of e-cigarettes to unsuccessful attempts to quit smoking among teenagers is significant.”
But Dr. Misch added that the findings, published as a letter to JAMA, “require consideration as the US formulates e-cigarette regulatory policy.”
England is set to become the first country in the world to mandate vaping to wean people off regular smoking, under controversial plans laid out by Health Minister Sajid Javid.
But it’s still not decided if they’re useful as an aid to smoking cessation, and some research suggests they’re no better than quitting.
Earlier this month, a University College London study found that vaping is not the gateway to regular cigarette smoking for most teens and young adults.
Dr. Misch acknowledged that he had one year of data on vape use, and dependence on teenagers reporting their smoking habits may have skewed the results.
Independent British experts said that the study has a number of flaws that make its conclusions questionable.
Professor Lyon Shahab, a health psychology expert at University College London, was one of them.
He said: “Unfortunately, this study is seriously flawed and tells us very little.”
He added that comparing historical quit attempts in previous years to quit attempts in 2020 alone was an “apple to pear” comparison.
Professor Shahab also said that the authors failed to account for the 2020 data breach that could be related to the Covid pandemic.
And he said the paper’s findings that e-cigarettes don’t help reduce smoking are not supported by other studies.
“E-cigarettes have a clear role to play as part of a comprehensive smoking cessation strategy to achieve the goal of being smoke-free,” he said.
Professor John Britton, an epidemiologist at the University of Nottingham, said the increase in people who didn’t quit could actually be a positive thing.
He said it “may just reflect an increase in the proportion of those who even try, and that’s a good thing.”
Although they contain fewer chemicals than traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes are unsafe and contain nicotine as well as several irritants that can damage the lungs.