Evidence Shows Vaping Is The Most Popular And Successful Smoking Cessation Tool

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Author: Jimmy HafreyDecember 14, 2022

Studies from the CDC and others point to the fact that e-cigarettes are helping massive amounts of people quit smoking for good

Vaping continues to suffer from an exceptionally poor perception among the general public, with some polls finding that less than 15% of adults believe vaping is much safer than smoking. But lots of peer-reviewed research now shows that e-cigarettes are both the most popular and most successful smoking cessation tool on the market. A study published last year by the CDC found that over 60% of smokers had used vaping to help them quit.

Unfortunately, they didn’t see this as a positive, calling the rise of vaping unlikely to be useful in the fight against smoking. But research published later that year thoroughly debunked this stance, finding that vaping was even more successful at helping smokers quit than the FDA and CDC sanctioned, smoking cessation drugs like Chantix. Results like these indicate a strong case for the efficacy of vaping as a smoking cessation tool. Let’s take a more in-depth look at the evidence.

CDC Report

The CDC surveyed nearly 16,000 smokers who were looking to quit between 2014 and 2016 and published their results last year in a report called Quit methods Used by Adult Cigarette Smokers, 2014-2016. In addition to tracking the popularity of smoking cessation methods, they also took a look at the success rate of varying approaches. While the most popular method was cold turkey, with over 65% of smokers saying they had attempted quitting this way, the single most popular tool was found to be e-cigarettes, with 60% of respondents saying they had used vaping to either stop or reduce their intake of cigarettes.

There were other impressive results of the study, including nearly 25% of respondents saying they were able to completely kick the smoking habit thanks to vaping. A higher rate of total success than any of the other ten methods studied. But these statistics shouldn’t suggest that the CDC was applauding the findings. In fact, they readily decried them, saying “There is no conclusive scientific evidence that e-cigarettes are effective for long-term cessation of cigarette smoking. E-cigarettes are not approved by the FDA as a smoking cessation aid.” This is much more in line with what they’ve said in the past than the study’s results would suggest. But a separate study published in late 2017 bolstered the case for vaping as a legitimate smoking cessation tool.

University Of Louisville Study

Researchers at the University of Louisville analyzed the results from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health report conducted by the federal government. Dr. Brad Rodu and Dr. Nantaporn Plurphanswat took the data collected and calculated usage rates and success rates for the various smoking cessation methods. This study also observed that cold turkey is the most common method of smoking cessation, but vaping was again the most popular tool. This study took a more in-depth look at the success rates of various approaches, as opposed to merely the usage rates.

They found that vaping helped nearly 28% of smokers quit for good. The next closest method regarding success rate was prescription drugs, which came in at just over 21% successful. The success rate continued to drop from there with nicotine patches and gum coming in at 17%. Surprisingly, cold turkey was observed to be slightly more successful than nicotine patches and gum, helping slightly over 18% of smokers quit for good.

Implications

These are not the only studies that have concluded vaping is a precious tool in the fight against tobacco. A joint study conducted by researchers at Rutgers and Columbia Universities found that over half of daily vapers were successful in quitting smoking for good. These studies should make it clear; Vaping is one of the best smoking cessation tools we have. The well-circulated 2015 study by Public Health England has already proven that e-cigarettes are at least 95% safer than traditional cigarettes.

Even if that alone were the benefit of vaping, it would still represent a significant tool in reducing the harm caused by tobacco. But given the mounting evidence of just how helpful vaping can be in the process of quitting smoking itself, we should be doing everything we can to support it. The British Psychological Society believe that this could be due to vaping satisfying many of the cues initially associated with smoking, such as bringing your hand to your face and observing a cloud being produced. Whatever the reason, if these results prove to be consistent in the long run we must put aside our societal bias to adequately support vaping. That’s the best way we can battle the ever-present threat of tobacco.

Why do you think the general public is so reluctant to support vaping, or even see it as a less risky alternative? Do you think more studies like this will lead to increased support? What do you think it would take for the CDC and FDA to get on board supporting vaping finally? Let us know in the comments below.

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