Can E-cigarettes Really Help You Quit Smoking?

Since e-cigarettes entered the market, they have been shrouded in mystery: are they a good tool for quitting smoking or a more harmful substance than traditional cigarettes? Today, we will help you gain a comprehensive understanding of e-cigarettes.

First, a bit of history on "e-cigarettes"

Like most consumer products, e-cigarettes are a human invention. Long ago, an American named Herbert A. Gilbert invented a device that could heat nicotine solution to turn it into vapor. In 1963, he applied for a patent, but at that time, the device had no practical use and was gradually forgotten by the public.

In 2013, a man named Han Li, wanting to quit smoking, invented a product to help with smoking cessation. Initially, he created nicotine patches, but they were ineffective. Later, he invented the e-cigarette, which was sold by the company Ruyan and officially entered the market.

Over the next decade, e-cigarettes underwent continuous updates, evolving into the fourth generation of products. In the second generation, food-grade flavorings were added to enhance the aroma of e-liquids, and improvements were made to the atomizers. The third generation introduced mechanical rod designs, while the fourth generation incorporated power and mode adjustments.

Are e-cigarettes harmful?

If you've seen e-cigarette advertisements or misleading promotions from unscrupulous businesses claiming they are "healthy and non-toxic" or "cleaning the lungs," you might have misconceptions about these products. However, if you've also come across many less authoritative articles, you may have seen claims that e-cigarettes are seven times more carcinogenic than traditional cigarettes.

These various claims do not provide a complete understanding of e-cigarettes. Let's first look at the components and working principles of e-cigarettes.

E-cigarettes consist of two parts: the electronic atomizer and the nicotine-containing liquid (e-liquid). These two parts are analogous to a pen and ink, or a syringe and medication.

E-cigarettes, also known as electronic nicotine delivery systems, work by heating a solution to produce vapor for users to inhale. The main components of this solution are nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerin, and additives. E-cigarettes typically contain nicotine, which is harmful to fetal development and cognitive development in individuals under 25 years old. Therefore, e-cigarettes are harmful, but their harm is significantly less than that of traditional cigarettes.

Jiang Yuan, deputy director of the Tobacco Control Office at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, stated that traditional tobacco contains over 200 harmful substances, which are released during combustion. E-cigarettes reduce the release of harmful substances to some extent, but they still emit harmful substances, and use by minors is also detrimental to health. Thus, the claims made by businesses that e-cigarettes are harmless and can aid in smoking cessation lack scientific basis.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States also states that e-cigarettes are a new phenomenon, and the long-term health effects of their use are still unknown.

Can e-cigarettes help with quitting smoking?

Regarding smoking cessation, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recommended nicotine replacement therapy to countries as early as 1996. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also approved at least four legal nicotine replacement products to assist in quitting smoking.

E-cigarettes seem to serve this purpose as well.

Evidence from a meta-analysis study in 2016 showed that individuals who chose e-cigarettes to quit smoking had a 28% higher success rate compared to those who did not use e-cigarettes. Additionally, research published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews indicated that e-cigarettes can aid in smoking cessation, with effects better than placebo. A 2015 meta-analysis also showed that using nicotine-containing e-liquids is more likely to lead to quitting than using non-nicotine e-liquids; this indicates that e-cigarettes can indeed serve a similar role to traditional nicotine replacement therapies. This study even suggested that e-cigarettes are more successful than traditional nicotine replacement therapies, with a success rate of 20% compared to 10%.

A study published in 2015 in the Chinese Journal of Clinical Physicians titled "A Survey on E-cigarette Use Among Smokers in Beijing" also indicated that e-cigarettes can help smokers quit or reduce their smoking volume, with 47.1% of smokers reporting a decrease in smoking.

From 2011 to 2017, the overall smoking rate in the UK declined, and the UK Department of Public Health believes that e-cigarettes played a significant role in this decline.

In 2018, the UK Department of Public Health published a blog stating that at least in the UK, e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking. Among the 2.9 million e-cigarette users in the UK, more than half have completely quit smoking, and e-cigarettes are expected to help 20,000 people quit smoking each year. With the promotion of e-cigarettes, the smoking rate in the UK has been decreasing annually, reaching a historic low of 15.5%, only higher than Sweden in all of Europe.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also believes that while not everyone can quit completely, many people still use both cigarettes and e-cigarettes, but because they tend to smoke less, e-cigarettes can still be recommended for smokers.
 

Therefore, for long-time smokers, e-cigarettes are still a good option for quitting smoking.