A Longitudinal Analysis of Electronic Cigarette Use and Smoking Cessation

Although electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are aggressively promoted as smoking cessation aids,1 studies of their effectiveness for cessation have been unconvincing.2, 3 One randomized trial comparing e-cigarettes with and without nicotine, and nicotine patch found no differences in 6-month quit rates.2 Population-based, longitudinal studies have also not shown associations between e-cigarette use and quitting.4, 5 A longitudinal, international study found that, although 85% of smokers who used e-cigarettes reported using them to quit, e-cigarette users did not quit more frequently than non-users (p=.516).4 Among US quitline callers, e-cigarette users were less likely to have quit at 7 months than non-users.5 We employed a longitudinal analysis of a national sample of current US smokers to determine whether e-cigarette use predicted successful quitting, or reduced cigarette consumption.