Cigarette smoking is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide.(1) Most smokers have tried quitting throughout their life,(2) but often fail because cigarettes contain a highly addictive substance – nicotine. Nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs), such as nicotine patches, are the most successful quitting method, yet fewer than 20% of quitters are successful.(3) Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) may improve this success rate because they tackle addiction as well as associated behaviours. We will assess the effectiveness of e-cigarettes as a quitting aid, by comparing the quitting rate and quitting duration to e-cigarettes without nicotine and to other NRTs. We will also assess if there are side-effects of e-cigarettes by measuring lung capacity. The results of our study will: inform governments about the best quitting methods; improve quitting rates; and reduce the number of deaths and disability caused by smoking. …show more content…
A recent study found 48.5 million Europeans have tried e-cigarettes.(11) Among the 7.5 million current users, 35.1% have quit smoking and a further 32.2% have reduced their consumption.(11) This study has a very large sample size from 28 countries, so the results indicare a positive impact of e-cigarettes on quitting. However, as an observational study, there is an inherent risk that bias may influence results. As such, we aim to reproduce these results using a RCT.
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