Drugs key to quitting

Electronic cigarettes are not an effective means to quit smoking, according to a story in The Asahi Shimbun citing an online study by Japan’s National Cancer Center.
“Some e-cigarette products are touted as being useful for smoking cessation, but we do not recommend that they be used for that purpose,” an official at the center was quoted as saying.
But this recommendation was made in spite of the fact that it was conceded that e-cigarettes could help smokers quit their habit.
“E-cigarettes could help smokers kick the habit,” said Itsuro Yoshimi, a senior official at the center. “But they could also have a negative impact: deceiving smokers so they will not select more effective smoking cessation means.”
The situation in Japan is further complicated because nicotine-containing e-cigarettes are effectively banned there by restrictions on the sale of nicotine, though the story pointed out that while producing and selling nicotine were restricted by law, individuals ‘can’ import liquid containing nicotine by themselves.
The study covered 798 people ranging in age from 20 to 69 who said they had attempted to quit smoking during the past five years.
The success rate for people who used e-cigarettes was said to be 40 percent lower than the rate for people who did not use these products, the study found.
People who received drug therapy at hospitals were more likely to quit smoking than those who did not see physicians, the study showed.