Nicotine e-cigarettes found to be more successful in helping smokers quit

Story by Science X staff at MSN 

A new analysis of existing studies co-led by a University of Massachusetts Amherst public health researcher finds that nicotine e-cigarettes consistently help adults quit smoking, a conclusion that emerges with striking agreement across nearly a decade of studies.

The "review of reviews," published in Addiction, examined 14 systematic reviews covering 109 primary studies conducted between 2014 and 2023. Across 21 separate meta-analyses, every pooled estimate pointed in the same direction: Smokers using nicotine e-cigarettes were more likely to quit than those using most other methods.

The review found that nicotine e-cigarettes are associated with quit rates approximately 20% to 40% higher than traditional nicotine replacement therapies, such as patches or gum, for smoking cessation lasting at least six months. Compared with non-nicotine e-cigarettes or placebo devices, nicotine e-cigarettes performed even better, with quit rates at least 46% higher.

"We set out to determine if scientists agree on whether nicotine e-cigarettes help people quit smoking," says senior author Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, assistant professor of health policy and promotion in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences at UMass Amherst. "Based on the consistency of the findings here, it's clear that they do."

While e-cigarettes with nicotine may prove more effective than traditional nicotine replacement therapies, it remains unclear if they are as effective a class of drugs known as nicotine receptor partial agonists, which are available only via prescription. Varenicline, marketed as Chantix in the U.S., can lessen smoking satisfaction and reduce withdrawal cravings.

More information: Angela Difeng Wu et al, Electronic Cigarettes for Smoking Cessation: An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Evidence and Gap Map, Addiction (2026). DOI: 10.1111/add.70388

Provided by University of Massachusetts Amherst

This story was originally published on Medical Xpress.

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