Vaping helps adults quit smoking better than traditional methods, says Cochrane

Electronic cigarettes, known as e-cigarettes or vapes, help adults to quit smoking better than traditional nicotine replacement methods, such as patches and chewing gums, a Cochrane review has found.1

Researchers from the University of Oxford examined 78 studies, including 40 randomised controlled trials, which involved 22 052 adults who smoked to assess the effectiveness, tolerability, and safety of e-cigarettes to help quitting. They found that quit rates among adults using nicotine e-cigarettes were higher than those receiving nicotine replacement therapy (risk ratio 1.63, 95% confidence interval 1.30 to 2.04; I²=10%; six studies, 2378 participants). This could translate to an additional 4 quitters per 100 (95% CI 2 to 6), the researchers said.

Although their findings show that e-cigarettes are an effective way to help adults stop smoking, the researchers said that e-cigarettes were not risk-free and should not be used by those who do not smoke, especially young …