E-cigarettes, which release nicotine in the form of vapor, are actually an effective smoking cessation aid, according to a new study from Bern. Phasing out tobacco is therefore twice as successful as without tobacco. However, not without risk.
The researchers, who published their results in the journal “The New England Journal of Medicine”, examined the effectiveness, safety and toxicology of e-vapers as part of a comprehensive advice on quitting smoking – compared to an equally extensive advice on quitting smoking without e-vaporizers. .
E-cigarettes increase abstinence rates
A total of 1,246 participants were interviewed and clinically examined in two groups over six months at the five study centers in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland. Adverse health events that occurred during this period were also recorded in detail.
The addition of e-vaping to conventional quit measures was shown to significantly increase tobacco smoking abstinence rates. The tobacco smoking abstinence rate was 53 percent in the e-vaper group and 32 percent in the non-vaper group. According to the study, this equates to a 67 percent increase in abstinence when using e-cigarettes compared to no e-vaporizer.
First remove tobacco and then nicotine
According to the research from the University of Bern, e-cigarettes, which produce significantly less harmful substances than tobacco cigarettes, do not help reduce nicotine addiction. To get rid of nicotine addiction, the researchers advocated a two-stage approach: by using e-vaporizers, smokers could first reduce the risk of diseases related to tobacco consumption, until later they decide to stop using altogether nicotine. Those affected should first try to quit smoking and then stop using e-vaporizers to escape the nicotine.
According to the researchers, e-steamers are not without risks. Even if far fewer toxins were released, they still contained carcinogens. In addition, nicotine can lead to addictive behavior, especially among young people.
Side effects mild, but present
In addition, there were more mild side effects such as irritated airways when using e-cigarettes than when not using such devices. It was said that the nicotine in e-vaping irritates the throat more than in conventional cigarettes. These are said to contain additives to alleviate precisely these symptoms. However, in terms of serious side effects, side effects were not more common in the e-vaper group than in the non-e-vaper group.
Health problems such as coughing or sputum were lower in the e-vaper group than in the control group. According to the researchers, these are typical symptoms of smoker’s lung. A reduction could indicate that smokers who consistently switch to e-vaporizers and stop consuming tobacco may experience fewer tobacco-related diseases in the long term, even if they continue to use e-vaporizers, the researchers said.
“Research confirms previous results”
“Our study confirms previous results that e-vaping is effective in smoking cessation,” said study leader Reto Auer of the Bern Institute of Family Medicine at the University of Bern and Unisanté, University Center for General Medicine and Healthcare in Lausanne. “It also shows the benefits they offer in the context of intensive smoking cessation advice, such as the one we have in Switzerland.”
According to information, the research on this topic is the largest of its kind in the world. Researchers from general medicine, pulmonary medicine, toxicology, addiction medicine and epidemiology were involved. Study centers in Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Zurich and St. Gallen were involved. The University of Bern was in charge.
Source: Krone
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