A new study confirms the relative effectiveness of the electronic cigarette in stopping smoking

The Department of Social and Preventive Medicine in Vienna, Austria, conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 13,950 publications on the effectiveness of electronic cigarettes in smoking cessation. The study also aimed to make a comparison with other means of withdrawal such as nicotine substitutes (gums, patches) and advice from a practitioner. Thus, some very interesting elements emerged:

1) the proportion of abstinent smokers is 1.7 times higher among users of electronic cigarettes than among non-users;
2) it is also 1.7 times more important than in patients treated with nicotine substitutes;
3) Finally, the proportion of abstinent smokers is 2.0 times higher than that of people who received only medical advice to stop smoking.

In conclusion, if this study does not completely confirm the effectiveness of the electronic cigarette, it calls for confirmation of these results by intervention studies conducted on large populations.

Effectiveness of Electronic Cigarettes in Smoking Cessation : A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. I. Grabovac & coll. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2021, 625–634doi:10.1093/ntr/ntaa181