A study published by Robert West in Addiction recently uncovered the fact that smokers have a 60% increase in chances of quitting smoking when they use the e cigarette as opposed to other OTC measures or willpower alone. Chances may increase even more when professional support is taken advantage of.
The study was done over the course of five years between 2009 and 2014. Using surveys, 5863 smokers responded to questioning concerning the effectiveness of the e cigarette versus other methods they may have tried. Methods excluded included prescriptions and professional support, leading researches to wonder how effective e cigarettes might be in comparison to prescription methods, whether e cigs should be prescribed, and the effectiveness of e cigs should smokers decide to take advantage of professional services as well as e cigs.
It’s important to note that the study did not address or claim to address concerns over whether or not e cigs are healthy. What they did address is the fact that just about anything other than inhaling tobacco and the chemicals that it is saturated in is the better option or rather, the more effective one. Numbers don’t lie. At the time of the study, 20% of those being surveyed had quit smoking using some form of e cigarette.
Part of the reason that e cigs seem to be so effective is the same reason that the study needed to be adjusted. Every smoker has their own reasons for smoking. Age and the sub-culture within that age group has much to do with it. So does the level of addiction to nicotine, how many previous attempts were made, and whether those attempts were done gradually or abruptly.
Before speculation begins on why the e cigarette is more effective than other methods, take a look at some numbers.
10.4% of the people involved in the study had quit using some method other than e cigarettes. Even if you are generous and assume that 10% of the 10.4% used the same specific method, that’s still only half as effective as e cigarettes, but the 10.4% represents a combination of methods.
15.4% quit using only willpower. That says a lot about the experience of smoking. For one thing, you have to be ready and in some cases, you may not enjoy cigarettes enough to want any type of replacement. Another possibility is that even though these people got some kind of satisfaction out of smoking, for one reason or another they were unwilling to continue it. And those people, the ones who were just done altogether, still don’t reach the numbers that e cigarettes do.
What is the difference between all of these methods and e cigarettes? Many of them provide nicotine, so by default you can assume that the provision of nicotine is not the only reason people smoke because many of these aids still don’t work. The most effective aid in the study, the e cigarette, does not only provide nicotine; it provides a sensation similar to smoking.
There is no doubt or argument about whether or not smoking is healthy. It leads to the numerous health problems which eventually lead to death. The math seems simple to most, but more studies will have to be done to assess the exact impact on the people exposed to vaping. At the very least, it would seem obvious to most that vaping is far less dangerous than smoking and by default, is the healthier alternative for those who just can’t seem to or don’t want to walk away from the cigarette.