Although electronic cigarettes are being aggressively promoted as tools that can help people quit smoking, scientific studies are not bearing that out.

e-Cigarettes v. nicotine patch

A report published recently in JAMA Internal Medicine noted that the effectivenss of e-cigarettes (or electronic nicotine delivery systems) in smoking cessation efforts has been “unconvincing” in studies conducted so far.

“One randomized trial comparing e-cigarettes with and without nicotine with a nicotine patch found no differences in 6-month quit rates,” noted authors Rachel A. Grana, PhD, MPH; Lucy Popova, PhD and Pamela M. Ling, MD, MPH.

Population-based, longitudinal studies have also not shown associations between e-cigarette use and quitting.

Smokers are using them in cessation efforts, but...

One international found that although 85% of smokers who used e-cigarettes reported using them to quit, e-cigarette users did not quit more frequently than nonusers.

Among US quitline callers, e-cigarette users were less likely to have quit at 7 months than nonusers.