- Vaping does not help most people quit smoking cigarettes, according to a new study.
- People who vape and smoke cigarettes are far less likely to leave nicotine behind than people who only smoke cigarettes.
- While the long-term health effects are unclear, vaping introduces harmful substances into the lungs, promoting inflammation and irritation. Vaping nicotine is also addictive.
- Among the most successful ways to quit vaping and smoking are quitlines and nicotine replacement therapy.
Smoking nicotine-based e-cigarettes has become a widespread alternative to cigarette smoking.
The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 11% of adults in the United States ages 18 to 24 were regularly vaping in 2021. Of all U.S. adults over 18, the percentage was about 4.5%.
When compared to older adults, those ages 18 to 44 were more likely to both vape e-cigarettes and smoke traditional cigarettes, the CDC found.
Given the recent rise of the e-cigarette industry, the long-term health effects of vaping remain unknown.
Many people may believe that vaping can help curb their cigarette smoking habit, but new research suggests this may not be the case.
A study published on March 5 in JAMA Network Open found that people who both vape and smoke are more likely to increase their nicotine dependence.
Quit rates nearly 15% lower among people who vaped daily
Researchers from the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science and Moores Cancer Center at the University of California San Diego conducted the cohort study.
The study included 6,013 U.S. cigarette smokers, comparing people who smoked with people who also vaped.
For people who vaped on a non-daily basis, the rate at which people were able to quit smoking was 5.3% lower than it was among smokers who did not vape.
For people who vaped daily, the quitting rate was the same as for those who did not vape.
Among those who vaped daily, the rate at which people stopped using both e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes was 14.7% lower than people who did not vape at all.
For those who did not vape daily, the quitting rate was 7.2% lower than it was for people who smoked and did not vape at all.
These findings suggest that vaping doesn’t help people transition from cigarettes.
Health risks associated with vaping
As indicated by the new study’s findings, vaping is at least as addictive as cigarette smoking.
When a person vapes, aerosolized e-liquid or “vape juice” is released into the lungs.
When this mixture of nicotine, flavorings, propylene glycol, and other substances enter the lungs, inflammation and irritation may occur.
E-liquids may also contain random heavy metals such as tin, lead, nickel, cadmium, and chemicals, including acetaldehyde and formaldehyde.
Vaping mist carries tiny particles of these foreign materials into the lungs, which can become embedded in lung tissue.
While the long-term effects of vaping are not well understood, there are already several areas of concern about the potential health impacts.
In addition, some research suggests vaping may be a driver of cardiovascular disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
“There have been cases of vaping associated with lung injury and respiratory failure,” Jimmy Johannes, MD, pulmonologist and critical care medicine specialist at Memorial Care Long Beach Medical Center in Long Beach, CA, told Healthline. Johannes wasn’t involved in the new study.
“There is also a potential risk that some vaping products may have adulterants,” he told Healthline. Such adulterants may include vitamin E acetate, which has been associated with lung injuries, and bacterial and fungal products.
Quitlines may help with smoking, vaping cessation
Although cigarette smoking is on the decline, vaping’s popularity remains strong.
With so many people vaping, identifying promising strategies for helping people leave e-cigarettes behind has become a priority.
Research funded by the American Heart Association (AHA) and published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that “quitlines” are highly effective at helping people achieve vaping cessation.
The large randomized trial found that 45%, or nearly half, of all participants, had quit vaping and continued to be abstinent three months beyond the conclusion of the trial.
A quitline is a phone number one can call for live support when attempting to quit vaping.
In the case of the AHA study, quitlines provided various combinations of:
- coaching
- nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) shipped to the caller
- mHealth, text-based links to quit resources such as videos, podcasts, and online educational materials.
NRT may consist of several substitutes for nicotine, including lozenges, nicotine patches, inhalers, gum, and sprays. One of the advantages of NRTs supplied by quitlines is that these often expensive items may be provided to the caller for free.
“NRT is a great tool to help patients quit smoking,” said Ozan Toy, MD, MPH, of Telapsychiatry, whether trying to break a vaping or cigarette habit. Toy was likewise not involved in the new study.
“You are essentially replacing the most addictive component of cigarettes, which is the nicotine, but avoiding the toxic chemicals that people are exposed to through smoking,” Toy said.
He said NRT gum or patches in conjunction with medication like varenicline can help break a vaping or smoking habit.
Alison Tarlow, PsyD, chief clinical officer at Boca Recovery Center, FL, explained how switching to e-cigarettes increased her consumption of nicotine. Tarlow wasn’t involved in the study.
Tarlow shared she finally quit vaping by switching from nicotine to a strawberry-kiwi e-cigarette. She found satisfaction in the act of vaping but did not crave the e-cigarette and eventually fell out of the habit altogether.
Ready to quit? Here are some resources
Quitlines can be a highly effective way to help with smoking or vaping cessation. You can call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit the following resources online:
Takeaway
Recent research finds that vaping nicotine is not an effective way to quit smoking cigarettes.
People who vape and smoke cigarettes are less likely to quit than people who only smoke cigarettes.
Vaping itself promotes nicotine dependency, and is associated with various potential health hazards, though the long-term health effects of vaping are still unknown.
Vaping Not Effective for Smoking Cessation. Here's What Will Help Instead
Source: Pinoy Lang Sakalam
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