The UKVIA welcomes the latest Cochrane Review which finds ‘the strongest evidence yet’ that vaping is more effective in helping smokers quit than traditional nicotine replacement therapies.
The Review – which is published in the Cochrane Library – said there was ‘high certainty evidence’ that vaping was a better route to quitting than nicotine patches or chewing gum.
It was published on the eve of the UKVIA’s Vaping Industry Forum and Celebration Dinner which was held at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster, London on Friday November 18.
The event not only featured UKVIA members from all sectors of the industry but was also attended by politicians and representatives from trading standards the NHS and local government.
John Dunne, Director General of the UKVIA, said of the latest Cochrane Review: “While the findings will come as no surprise to any of our members, it is important that research like this is made available to adult smokers so that they can discover just how effective vaping can be in helping people quit cigarettes.
“Research like this is vital to help counter the swathes of false, highly damaging and irresponsible reporting about vaping which puts smokers off switching what has been shown to be the best quitting aid ever developed.”
The updated Cochrane Review included 78 studies in over 22,000 participants and an addition of 22 studies since the last update in 2021.
Key findings from the Review included:
- There is high-certainty evidence that electronic cigarettes with nicotine increase quit rates compared with nicotine replacement therapy
- There is moderate-certainty evidence that e-cigarettes with nicotine increase quit rates compared to e-cigarettes without nicotine and that
- No clear evidence was detected of harm from nicotine e-cigarettes when used to quit smoking.
The latest Cochrane Review also comes hot on the heels of the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) reaffirming that ‘vaping poses only a small fraction of the risk of smoking and is at least 95% less harmful than smoking’. This figure has remained unchanged since its predecessor, Public Health England (PHE), released its first evidence review into nicotine vaping in 2015.
Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, Associate Professor at the University of Oxford, Editor of the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group, and an author of the new publication, highlighted the damage that misunderstandings about vaping has caused.
He said: “Electronic cigarettes have generated a lot of misunderstanding in both the public health community and the popular press since their introduction over a decade ago.
“These misunderstandings discourage some people from using e-cigarettes as a stop smoking too but fortunately, more and more evidence is emerging and provides further clarity.
“With support from Cancer Research UK, we search for new evidence every month as part of a living systematic review.
“For the first time, this has given us high-certainty evidence that e-cigarettes are even more effective at helping people to quit smoking than traditional nicotine replacement therapies, like patches or gums.”
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive at Cancer Research UK, said: “We welcome this report which adds to a growing body of evidence showing that e-cigarettes are an effective smoking cessation tool.
“While the long-term effects of vaping are still unknown, the harmful effects of smoking are indisputable – smoking causes around 55,000 cancer deaths in the UK every year.
“Cancer Research UK supports balanced evidence-based regulation on e-cigarettes from UK governments which maximises their potential to help people stop smoking, whilst minimising the risk of uptake among others.”
The researchers concluded that more evidence, particularly about the effects of newer e-cigarettes with better nicotine delivery than earlier ones, is needed to assist more people quit smoking and longer-term data was also needed.
The full Cochrane Review can be found here.