Study: Smokers who quit with e-cigarettes likely to experience relapse

A new study has found that smokers are likely to experience relapse when they try to quit smoking using e-cigarettes.

The study, conducted in South Africa, revealed that e-cigarettes do not help in quitting smoking contrary to misconceptions.

The research was carried out by the Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research (ATIM) and the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC).

Like in South Africa, e-cigarettes are also becoming more popular in Nigeria, particularly among the youths.

In 2019, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) alerted Nigerians on its dangers, including seizure.

The researchers, in a statement shared on Sunday, noted that for some smokers who had tried to quit, “e-cigarette use was associated with higher likelihood of short-term, but not long-term quitting.”

“The study in fact indicated a higher likelihood of smoking relapse among ‘ever’ smokers in South Africa who had tried to quit using e-cigarettes,” the statement reads.

“The likelihood of long-term quitting lasting 6-12 months was 80% lower among those who used e-cigarettes once-
off/rarely, 70% lower former e-cigarette users, and 77% lower among regular e-cigarette users compared to never users.

“Despite this evidence of limited effect on cessation, our study also suggests more e-cigarette ‘ever’ as compared to ‘never’ users still believed e-cigarettes could assist smokers completely quit (35.5% vs. 20.4%) or cut down (51.7% vs. 26.5%).”

Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, executive director of ATIM, also said findings from the new study “support an urgent need for a regulated environment in order to better protect our youth from the health harms of e-cigarette addiction”.

“While the tobacco and e-cigarette industry likes to position e-cigarettes as cessation aids, the limited effectiveness of these products for long-term quitting, the health harms associated with usage, and the industry’s clear and targeted marketing to youth are facts which are conveniently omitted from their narrative,” Ayo-Yusuf added.