Time for a Focus on Cessation of E-Cigarettes

E-cigarettes, which were introduced in the US market in 2007, have experienced tremendous growth in the US and globally and are the focus of an intense and often controversial public health debate concerning harms and benefits. The most important potential benefit of e-cigarettes is to assist with cigarette smoking cessation and reduce exposure to cigarette-related harm among those who completely switch to e-cigarettes. However, e-cigarettes can also produce harm and serve to initiate and maintain nicotine addiction in populations for whom there is no potential public health benefit of use. Indeed, e-cigarette use prevalence is highest and rising among youth and young adults, many of whom have never smoked cigarettes. Among cigarette smokers, dual use of e-cigarettes and cigarettes is common, and many who had successfully quit smoking in the past are reinitiating nicotine use with e-cigarettes. Many youth and adults who use e-cigarettes experience nicotine addiction and physical dependence and are keen to quit e-cigarettes. However, in the national and worldwide discourse about the public health benefits vs harm of e-cigarettes there has been minimal focus on how to support individuals who want to stop using e-cigarettes, leading to a critical lack of evidence-based treatments.
Source: JAMA Internal Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Source Type: research