Abstract
BackgroundThis interventional-cohort study tried to answer if people who smoke and choose an e-cigarette in the context of smoking cessation treatment by tobacco counselors in Flanders are achieving smoking abstinence and how they compare to clients who opt for commonly recommended (or no) aids (nicotine replacement therapy, smoking cessation medication).MethodsParticipants were recruited by tobacco counselors. They followed smoking cessation treatment (in group) for 2 months. At several times during treatment and 7 months after quit date, participants were asked to fill out questionnaires and to perform eCO measurements.ResultsOne third of all participants (n = 244) achieved smoking abstinence 7 months after the quit date, with e-cigarette users having higher chances to be smoking abstinent at the final session compared to NRT users. Point prevalence abstinence rates across all follow-up measurements, however, as well as continuous and prolonged smoking abstinence, were similar in e-cigarette users and in clients having chosen a commonly recommended (or no) smoking cessation aid. No differences were obtained between smoking cessation aids with respect to product use and experiences.ConclusionsPeople who smoke and choose e-cigarettes in the context of smoking cessation treatment by tobacco counselors show similar if not higher smoking cessation rates compared to those choosing other evidence-based (or no) smoking cessation aids.
Highlights
IntroductionThis interventional-cohort study tried to answer if people who smoke and choose an e-cigarette in the context of smoking cessation treatment by tobacco counselors in Flanders are achieving smoking abstinence and how they compare to clients who opt for commonly recommended (or no) aids (nicotine replacement therapy, smoking cessation medication)
This interventional-cohort study tried to answer if people who smoke and choose an e-cigarette in the context of smoking cessation treatment by tobacco counselors in Flanders are achieving smoking abstinence and how they compare to clients who opt for commonly recommended aids
Crosssectional data in convenience samples of current EU and US e-cigarette users indicate that around 80 to 90% of e-cigarette users report to have smoked in the past and Adriaens et al Harm Reduct J (2021) 18:28 that e-cigarette use is rare among people who never smoked [1,2,3,4]
Summary
This interventional-cohort study tried to answer if people who smoke and choose an e-cigarette in the context of smoking cessation treatment by tobacco counselors in Flanders are achieving smoking abstinence and how they compare to clients who opt for commonly recommended (or no) aids (nicotine replacement therapy, smoking cessation medication). Several well-conducted prospective and retrospective observational cohort studies from the US show that the likelihood of smoking abstinence is higher for those who smoke and self-select an e-cigarette in a quit attempt compared to those who do not [12,13,14,15] Quit rates from such studies vary (both UK and US data), going from 20 to 52%; with the best results in regular and daily e-cigarette use, while using efficient e-cigarettes [16, 17]. Quit rates at 6 months were low (between 2 to 7%), but the overall conclusion was that combining nicotine patches with nicotine-containing e-cigarettes could modestly improve smoking cessation compared to using patches in combination with nicotine-free e-cigarettes [20] In both RCTs [19, 20], second generation e-cigarettes (i.e. tank devices) were used with e-liquids containing nicotine concentrations between 10 and 18 mg/mL. The use of tank devices has been shown to be positively related with smoking cessation [21]
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