E-cigarettes are quit aids

An increasing number of people in the US are giving up cigarettes, and a new study suggests that the take-up of electronic cigarettes might be the reason, according to a story by Steven Reinberg for HealthDay.

After stalling for 15 years, the US quit-smoking rate rose to nearly six percent in 2014-2015, up from less than five percent in prior years, national survey data indicates.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine believe e-cigarettes have helped fuel the increase.

“From 2014 to 2015, more e-cigarette users tried to quit cigarette smoking and succeeded in quitting than those who didn’t use e-cigarettes,” said lead researcher Shu-Hong Zhu, director of the university’s Center for Research and Intervention in Tobacco Control.

Reviewing survey responses from nearly 25,000 current and former smokers in 2014-2015, Zhu and his colleagues found that vapers were more likely than non-users to make a quit attempt (65 percent versus 40 percent). And they were more likely to succeed for at least three months (eight percent versus five percent), he said.

In background notes, the researchers said the use of e-cigarettes in the US became noticeable around 2010 and increased dramatically by 2014, which would coincide with the rising quit-smoking rates.

Reinberg reported that scientists remained divided over whether e-cigarettes provided a gateway to smoking or a less harmful tool that helped smokers quit, but added that the new study seemed to support the second theory.

“People should be open to consider e-cigarettes as a way to help them quit, especially if they have used everything else in the past,” Zhu said. “The important thing is that people continue to try.”

Zhu added that a national tobacco control campaign that began airing in 2012 probably also helped boost quit rates.