Quitting Smoking Is the Main Reason People Use E-Cigarettes

Electronic cigarette products have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as smoking cessation devices; however, a new survey indicates that quitting smoking is the primary reason users turn to e-cigarette products.

V2, a brand of e-cigarettes and vaporizers based in Miami, conducted a survey asking 300 adult e-cigarette users in the United States about their reasons for using e-cigarettes.

When asked about their reasons for choosing e-cigarettes:

· 62% said they did so to "quit smoking"

· 38% were dual users, using e-cigarettes to "get nicotine when they can't smoke"

· 36% said they "prefer the variety of flavors in e-cigarettes over traditional tobacco cigarettes"

· 29% said they do so because e-cigarettes are "more socially acceptable than smoking"

“For most adult smokers, e-cigarettes are a legitimate alternative to combustible cigarettes,” said Adam Kustin, Vice President of Marketing at V2. “It is frustrating that the recent FDA legislation classifies e-cigarettes as cigarette products.”

This online survey was conducted on May 11 and 12, just days after the FDA announced its final deeming rule. This deeming rule will take effect on August 8. It expands the FDA's authority over all cigarette products, including e-cigarettes, cigars, hookah tobacco, pipe tobacco, and more, which have been under FDA regulation since the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was passed by Congress in 2009.

According to another survey conducted by V2 on June 7, among e-cigarette users, three-quarters believe that e-cigarettes "should be subject to some regulation."

Additionally, the June 7 survey results also showed that 49% of respondents indicated that if regulations pushed e-cigarettes off the market, they would return to combustible cigarettes.