ScienceMag.org
Medical devices don’t typically come in flavors like “Spiked Nog,” “Apple Jaxx,” or “Aphrodite’s Affair,” but proponents of e-cigarettes—introduced in 2006—have argued that the pen-shaped nicotine vaporizers could help cigarette smokers kick the habit. Now, a review of the scientific literature, published today, lends credibility to this claim, although
the matter is far from settled.
Conducted by the UK Cochrane Centre, the review focused on just two randomized controlled trials, but it also considered data from 11 cohort studies, which compared people who were already trying to quit with and without e-cigarettes. On balance, the data “suggest that electronic cigarettes can be helpful [for] stopping smoking and reducing cigarette consumption,” says lead author and behavioral scientist Hayden McRobbie of the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in London.
After 1 year, trial participants who used the devices were more than twice as likely (4% versus 9%) to successfully quit compared with those who used a nicotine-free placebo vaporizer. Another 36% of e-cigarette users were able to reduce the number of traditional cigarettes they smoked by 50% or more. But 28% of placebo users also reduced their
cigarette consumption by at least 50%, suggesting that some of the e-cigarette’s quitting power may be derived from the mere act of “smoking” it.
