Are E-Cigs More Effective Than Other NRT's?

If you’ve quit cigarettes and are now an ardent vaper living a smoke-free life, then you’ll know just how effective e-cigarettes are. When it comes to combatting the tough times every smoker faces in their quest to quit tobacco, vaping provides a far less harmful alternative to smoking. An innovation that has helped free millions of smokers from the shackles of tobacco and the noxious carcinogens and carbon monoxide that one subjects themselves to every time they smoke - e-cigs really do work! In fact, new studies suggest that e-cigs are up to twice as effective as other smoking cessation products – let’s find out more.

New study supports e-cigarettes

The study recently published by Queen Mary University of London says that e-cigarettes are twice as effective as the traditional nicotine replacement treatments such as patches and gums. The clinical trial consisting of 900 participants found that 18% of smokers who switched to e-cigarettes had become successfully smoke-free after a year, compared to just 9.9% of those who used other nicotine replacements. Pretty awesome news right?

Until 2018’s NHS led campaign Stoptober, health professionals have been rather reserved when it comes to recommending e-cigs to smokers looking to improve their health. Whilst the short-term health effects of vaping seem relatively encouraging, the fact that long-term health impacts don’t exist yet has meant many doctors haven’t necessarily felt comfortable recommending vaping to patients.

Helping health professionals to recommend e cigs

The only previous study similar to that of Queen Mary’s was to compare nicotine patches to the earlier developed cigalikes which had very a very low nicotine delivery. The evidence from this study, which lacked the face-to-face contact that the Queen Mary ’s study has, had previously shown that both treatments had little effect on those looking to successfully quit cigarettes.

Supported by Cancer Research UK and funded by the National Institute for Health Research, this new trial is the first of its kind and provides a key insight into the efficacy of newer refillable e-cigs as a viable nicotine replacement therapy. The subsequent results in favour of e-cigs may just provide the assistive data to help those health professionals who may be in doubt about recommending e-cigs to patients to make new recommendations in favour of vaping.

Whilst we’ll have to wait sometime before the findings of any studies that relate to the long-term health impacts vaping may have, the fact that e-cigs are helping so many smokers become smoke-free should surely be an encouraging sign for existing smokers to have the confidence in e-cigs as a serious route to quitting cigarettes.

Vaping is 95% less harmful than smoking

The new study published by QMUL supports Public Health England’s independent report published in 2015 that stated e-cigarettes are up to 95% less harmful than smoking and importantly, have the potential to help smokers become smoke-free.

If you know someone seeking to become smoke-free, but dithering about what to do about it, then share the good news and let them know that vaping e-cigs can help, you just need to get started.