Latest Resources
E-cigarettes: striking the right balance
Continued surveillance of e-cigarette and smoking in all age groups is warranted. Health authorities need to recognise the continuum of risk associated with all nicotine products, so that regulations are proportionate to the harm the products cause—ie, more stringent for the highest risk products (cigarettes) than those that are less harmful (nicotine medications, oral tobacco, e-cigarettes).9
Vaping among adults in England who have never regularly smoked: a population-based study, 2016–24
Study published in The Lancet Public Health looks at vaping trends in adults who have never regularly smoked. Some people have genes and circumstances leading them to like nicotine products. Traditionally, they ended up smoking, but some are now discovering vaping without becoming smokers first. If vaping did not exist, they would be smoking. The study authors point this out. To understand the likely consequences of an increase in regular vaping among never-regular-smokers, it is important to consider the counterfactual: what would these people have done in the absence of vaping?
Why banning vape flavours hurts smoking cessation efforts
Understanding the critical role of flavours in vaping as a harm reduction tool and why Brussels should reconsider its proposed ban Flavours are the nudge we need to keep encouraging vaping as an effective alternative to mankind’s deadliest consumption epidemic, smoking. Politicians must preserve the place of vaping flavours in the market. If they want to introduce new regulation, they should target specific products which do harm, not introduce a blanket ban on flavours.
Support for banning sale of smoked tobacco products among adults who smoke: findings from the International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking and Vaping Surveys (2018–2022)
Opposition to banning smoked tobacco predominates among people who smoke, but less with a cessation assistance scenario than one encouraging nicotine substitution. Wanting to quit a lot was the strongest indicator of support.
Trends in Harm Perceptions of E-Cigarettes vs Cigarettes Among Adults Who Smoke in England, 2014-2023
These findings provide evidence of substantial misperceptions about the harms of vaping compared with smoking and underscore the need to clearly communicate the risks so that adults who smoke can make informed choices about the nicotine products they use. The risks of vaping are much lower than the risks of smoking and this isn’t being clearly communicated to people. “This misperception is a health risk in and of itself, as it may discourage smokers from substantially reducing their harm by switching to e-cigarettes. It may also encourage some young people who use e-cigarettes to take up smoking for the first time, if they believe the harms are comparable.
Secondhand Nicotine Absorption From E-Cigarette Vapor vs Tobacco Smoke in Children
This cross-sectional study of 1777 US children aged 3 to 11 years found that, compared with children exposed to secondhand smoke only, nicotine absorption was 83.6% lower in those exposed to secondhand vapor only and 96.7% lower in those exposed to neither. In this cross-sectional study of US children, nicotine absorption was much lower in children who were exposed to secondhand vapor vs secondhand smoke, but higher than in those exposed to neither. These findings suggest that switching from smoking to vaping indoors may substantially reduce, but not eliminate, children’s secondhand exposure to nicotine and other noxious substances.
E-Cigarette Characteristics and Cigarette Cessation Among Adults Who Use E-Cigarettes
In this study, daily e-cigarette use and use of e-cigarettes in 2019 to 2021 were consistently associated with greater cigarette discontinuation rates. These findings suggest that research focused on e-cigarettes marketed in recent years is needed to inform product regulation and public health policy decisions.
Effects of interventions to combat tobacco addiction: Cochrane update of 2021 to 2023 reviews
Nicotine replacement therapy (especially patches combined with fast acting forms), varenicline, cytisine, bupropion, nicotine e-cigarettes, behavioural counselling, and financial incentives are all effective ways to help people quit smoking. Quitting smoking improves mental health and reduces cardiovascular events and mortality in people living with cardiovascular disease.
Quitting Strong: New Zealand’s Smoking Cessation Success Story - 2024
New Zealand has halved its smoking rates in just five years by supporting adult smokers to switch to vaping, a new report reveals. Smoking rates in New Zealand are set to dip below five per cent, putting it on the brink of being declared officially ‘smoke free.’ Global health campaign group Smoke Free Sweden says the country presents a compelling case study for the ‘Swedish Model’ of smoking cessation, where safer nicotine alternatives are made readily available to smokers. An important aspect of the success is Government-Endorsed Communication: Challenge and correct misinformation, especially about risk-reduced nicotine products, and nicotine itself. Counterbalance false narratives which confuse adult smokers about relative risks and prolong the smoking epidemic. Most importantly, encourage adults who smoke to quit or switch to less harmful nicotine alternatives.
Cessation of Smoking Trial in the Emergency Department (COSTED): a multi-centre, randomised controlled trial
Giving out free e-cigarette starter packs in hospital emergency departments to people who smoke helps more people quit – according to research from the University of East Anglia. The trial, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), offered advice, an e-cigarette starter pack and referral to stop smoking services to people attending A&E for any reason, to help them to stop smoking. Six months later, almost one in four people given the starter packs said they had quit smoking. And those who received the packs but didn’t quit altogether, were more likely to have reduced the number of cigarettes they smoked.
