E-cigarettes are attracting non-smokers to nicotine, EU warns

A precious aid to many smokers in their efforts to quit, e-cigarettes are nonetheless likely to attract non-smokers and lead to higher rates of nicotine addiction, cautions the European Commission in its "E-cigarettes Myth Buster" report.

Electronic cigarettes encourage smoking behaviors, the EU's governing body observes, citing recent studies suggesting that "e-cigarettes are increasingly used by non-smokers and young people."

A French study carried out in 2013, for example, indicated that the number of Parisian students who had tried vaping had doubled during the year to reach 18 percent. And users become more likely to try out traditional tobacco products once they have tried out smoking behaviors and experienced a nicotine buzz through vaping.

Nonetheless, there is some evidence that e-cigarettes, the health effects of which are largely unknown, can help smokers to give up their bad habit. Smokers looking to wean themselves off of nicotine with the device should start with an appropriately dosed e-liquid. The maximum strength authorized for sale is typically 20mg/ml. Though most smokers will find they can quit with this dosage or a much lower one, very heavy smokers can obtain a prescription for a higher dosage from a doctor if needed. 

New Study FInds That Vaping Helps To Cease Smoking

New British study supported by Addiction Magazine finds that cessation of smoking is a definite possibility through E-Cigarettes

By Curt Cramer

Some great news for the newly-popular e-smoking industry this week, showing that using e-cig replacements for the traditional combustable smoking methods actually cause a cessation for smoking, at least for those who were in the exam.

In a study done in England, 6,000 smokers attempting to quit the habit were more likely to stop smoking tobacco based products than those using traditional over-the-counter quitting aids such as gums and patches, or the old stand by of the cold turkey method.

This comes as the FDA imposed new regulations on the e-cig industry, having them disclose e-cig ingredients to the agency (but not to the public). Bloomberg reports investigators from a cancer research center at the University College of London conducted the study, which was partially funded with government and drug industry grants. Adding to the credibility of the report was that the authors have no ties financially to any e-cigarette companies.

Drawing on surveys of English citizens from 2009 to 2014 who tried to quit smoking in the last 12 months, using the aids or no help, e-smokers were definitely more likely to quit amongst others. The study did however exclude those using prescription aids such as Chantix.

Vaping has become an immensely popular alternative to smoking, and the flavorings have been considered aimed towards the youth in many aspects. In the recent FDA regulations, the flavorings are still not being regulated, raising many questions amongst opponents. The study also does not find grounds for the makers to market e-cigs as quitting aids. In order to do such, the FDA would need to see completely random study subjects, and rigorously more thorough studying being completed. The study also does not recognize whether smokers were more likely to relapse on e-cig technology.

Some Good News for the E-Cig Industry: Vaping Can Help Smokers Quit

The e-cigarette industry got some good news this week: A survey of almost 6,000 smokers in Britain trying to quit found that those who used electronic cigarettes were more likely to stop using smoking tobacco than those who used over-the-counter quitting aids or had no help at all.

The study, accepted by the journal Addiction and published online Tuesday, comes as U.S. regulators weigh new rules for nicotine vaporizers. The e-cig industry and public health officials are battling over whether the devices should be treated as less-harmful cigarettes that help smokers give up tobacco or as a gateway that will lead adolescents to a deadly habit. Investigators from a cancer research center at the University College London conducted the study, which was partially funded with government and drug industry grants. None of the authors reported financial ties to e-cigarette companies, which adds to the report's credibility.

The latest analysis drew on surveys of British households from 2009 to 2014 and counted smokers who had tried to quit within the past 12 months. A majority used no help, about one-third tried over-the-counter aids, such as nicotine patches or gums, and 8 percent used e-cigarettes. The study excluded people who used prescription medicines or counseling to quit smoking, as well as those who used both e-cigs and nicotine replacement. E-cig users were more likely to have stopped smoking tobacco by the time of the survey than either of the other groups.

While surely welcome news for fans of vaping, these survey results are not the kind of evidence that proves e-cigarettes are effective quitting aids and would let the industry market them as such. For that, regulators want to see rigorous, randomized control trials that compare e-cigs with placebo treatments. E-cigarettes are also an evolving technology, with varying formulas and designs that may have different effects on users. And the research doesn't address whether smokers relapse more when using e-cigs than other quitting methods.

Scientists also haven't established what risks e-cigarettes might pose to long-term users. It's impossible to know how these products will affect people over decades, because the products are less than 10 years old. Other risks associated with e-cig use: They occasionally explode, and children or pets may accidentally consume the poisonous liquid if it's left unsecured.

While vaping is widely believed to be safer than inhaling tobacco smoke, it's "not safer than just breathing clean air," as Dr. Richard Hurt, former director of the Mayo Clinic's Nicotine Dependence Center, said in a recent interview. Other research in the U.S. suggests that smokers' perception that e-cigarettes are less harmful is declining.

Still, many people report anecdotally that e-cigs help them trade a habit known to be deadly for one presumed to be less dangerous, even when other approaches failed. To the extent that e-cigs help people quit inhaling tobacco, the study says, "e-cigarettes may substantially improve public health because of their widespread appeal and the huge health gains associated with stopping smoking."