How to Quit Smoking Cigarettes with E-cigs

Meanwhile, worldwide use of traditional cigarettes and other tobacco products is slowly beginning to decline. E-cigarettes, also known as e-cigs, vape pens or electronic nicotine delivery systems, are battery-operated smoking devices, originally designed to mimic traditional cigarettes. For this reason, these products are often referred to as e-hookah, or e-shisha pens.

For the standard e-cigarette, nicotine is extracted from tobacco and mixed with a liquid base like propylene glycol or glycerol, along with other chemicals and flavourings. This solution is then added to a cartridge that can be fitted to an e-cigarette device. Most e-cigarettes are rechargeable, and use refillable or replaceable e-liquid or e-juice cartridges.

How vaping helps even hardened smokers quit

When the user puffs on the mouthpiece attached to the cartridge, a heating element is activated, and the liquid is vapourised. The resulting aerosol solution, or vapour, is inhaled. The Food and Drug Administration FDA regulates certain aspects of the e-cigarette market, like the labelling, promotion and distribution of e-cigarette-related products. Globally, there has been a lot of debate surrounding the use and regulation of e-cigarettes, with many arguments against their use stemming from potential long-term health risks and the trend of vaping amongst young people particularly high school students.

Nevertheless, reputable organisations, such as Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians, continue to push for e-cigarettes to be licensed as medicinal products. Since the puffing, the hand-to-mouth action, the delivery of nicotine and the cigarette smoke-like vapour all mimic regular smoking, e-cigarettes can be helpful for many people who are trying to quit smoking.

Because most people continue to smoke tobacco due to a nicotine addiction, e-cigarettes can help to tackle the physical side of a smoking habit. Unlike other smoking cessation aids like gums and patches, the resemblance of e-cigarettes to regular cigarettes can also help to combat some of the psychological, or behavioural aspects of smoking.

Despite this, in order to maximise your chances of success on your quit-smoking journey, the use of these products should be combined with traditional therapy sessions or use of an evidence-based, virtual therapy such as the Quit Genius app. Non-smokers or ex-smokers should avoid the use of e-cigarettes, as this could kick-start a nicotine addiction which could then be very difficult to break.

You should start to use your e-cigarette on your quit day, at the time when you would usually smoke your first cigarette. Continue to use throughout the day, in line with your normal smoking routine. Be careful not to use the device more frequently than you would smoke cigarettes in an average day. Since e-cigarettes contain nicotine, they can be addictive and have the ability to worsen your nicotine addiction if improperly used. As with other smoking cessation products, e-cigarettes are not intended for long-term use. They are designed to help you transition to a smoke-free life, but in order to break the addiction completely, e-cigarette use must be gradually reduced over time.

Consult your doctor before beginning to use these devices. They will help you to create a schedule which will detail the frequency and duration of e-cigarette use as you progress through your quit-smoking journey. Methods for weaning yourself off e-cigarettes may include reducing the number of times you use the device throughout the day, reducing the nicotine strength of the e-liquid you use, or swapping nicotine-containing e-liquids for nicotine-free e-liquids from time to time.

Some people notice minor side effects with the use of e-cigarettes. Commonly reported symptoms include:.

Despite not containing tar or carbon monoxide, e-cigarettes are not free of toxic substances, and therefore questions have been raised about their long-term health effects. That makes it extremely difficult for researchers to study their safety and potential health risks.

Moreover, many of the studies that have been conducted either contain too few participants to enable researchers to make generalisations for entire populations, or are funded by e-cigarette companies, creating significant research bias. The expert panel decided not to rank articles that lacked specific conclusions.

The panel summed the number of supporting and not supporting articles to determine the scores as a simple quantitative review scale for ECs effects on respiratory health. One hundred and forty-nine articles were found in PubMed up to September , the first one in and 4, 6, 15, 37, and 86 articles were published in the following years, respectively.

One hundred and thirty-seven Sixty-eight of the had no clear result or on smoking cessation and presented news regarding ECs and called for a further investigation regarding its effects [ Figure 1 ]. Twenty-four articles supported the device as an effective and nonharmful method for tobacco cessation. Forty-five articles did not support the use of the device due to side effects and lack of success in tobacco cessation efforts.

Based on Table 1 , there were 21 more articles Frequency of electronic cigarettes articles based on published year and the result obtained. This study demonstrated that the weight of evidence indicates that using ECs is harmful. A general question about electric cigarettes is whether this is an ineffective device or a proper treatment for smoking cessation. For other tobacco control methods, we could find articles both supporting and not supporting the methods. In this study, we considered suitable methods for tobacco cessation, which received higher scores based on supportive best evidence.

In recent years, the number of articles regarding ECs has increased noticeably and even doubled yearly, but the central finding is that in comparison with some other quit methods, the supportive articles are much fewer. In light of the paucity of reliable scientific support, why there is so much interest in using these devices? It is probable that ECs can act as an escape from ongoing campaigns such as the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in countries and additional established campaigns against smoking and preserve dependence on nicotine. Recently, the transnational tobacco companies have entered the ENDS market, and some of them are aggressively competing with the independent e-cigarette companies to gain market share.

The provisional agenda of the 6 th Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in Moscow in demonstrated that only a few studies have examined whether the use of ENDS is an effective method for quitting tobacco smoking, and evidence is limited and does not allow firm conclusions to be reached.

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Furthermore, it has been clearly mentioned that ECs were not recommended for smoking cessation by the WHO and any other scientific agency, so more investigation is needed in this regard. Enough evidence to suggest that ECs are effective for quitting smoking is lacking, as is the evidence for the lack of their harm for respiratory system and thus being alternatives for smoking.

A potential limitation of any review including ours is the possibility of publication bias. Furthermore, our review suffers from the non availability of high quality randomized trials. The authors would like to acknowledge Prof. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Journal List Lung India v. Author information Copyright and License information Disclaimer. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Cessation, e-cigarettes, respiration, smoking, tobacco, vaping. RESULTS One hundred and forty-nine articles were found in PubMed up to September , the first one in and 4, 6, 15, 37, and 86 articles were published in the following years, respectively.

Open in a separate window. Table 1 Frequency of electronic cigarettes articles based on published year and the result obtained. Limitation A potential limitation of any review including ours is the possibility of publication bias. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest. Expert support Success stories Contact us.

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INTRODUCTION

There are a variety of models available: These look similar to tobacco cigarettes. They tend to have small batteries and can be disposable or rechargeable.

• Can E-Cigarettes Help You Quit Smoking?.
• 90 Percent of Smokers in Study Couldn’t Quit After Vaping for One Year.
• How vaping helps even hardened smokers quit | EurekAlert! Science News;
• What advocates, experts have to say.
• Conquerors & Kings (Wanderers in Time Book 3).
• E-cigarettes.

These devices are shaped like a pen or small tube. They have a tank to store e-liquid and replaceable coils. The batteries tend to last longer than cigalike batteries. Mods come in a range of shapes and sizes but are generally the largest e-cigarette devices, with longer lasting batteries.

E-Cigarettes & Vaping - A Complete Guide | Quit Genius

How do I choose the right e-cigarette for me? If you're a lighter smoker, a cigalike or vape pen could suffice. If you are a heavier smoker, it's advisable to try a vape pen or mod. Will an e-cigarette help me stop smoking? How safe are e-cigarettes? Are there any risks associated with e-cigarettes? What about risks from nicotine? Are e-cigarettes safe to use in pregnancy? If you are pregnant, licensed NRT products such as patches and gum are the recommended option to help you stop smoking.