International study claims vaping can help smokers quit, but Australian experts divided

Researchers have found nicotine vapes can assist people in quitting smoking tobacco, but Australian experts are divided.

An international study reveals vaping could be used to quit smoking but Australian experts are divided.

People trying to quit smoking tobacco are more likely to be successful if nicotine vapes are part of their strategy, according to a new international study, but Australian experts are divided.

More than 1000 adults who were smoking at least five tobacco cigarettes per day were involved in the Switzerland-based study, half of whom received e-cigarettes to go alongside designated smoking cessation counselling sessions, while the other half received counselling and a voucher, which could be used on whatever they wanted – including nicotine ­replacement therapy.

The research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found the addition of e-cigarettes resulted in a greater abstinence from tobacco use among smokers than smoking cessation counselling sessions alone.

Nearly 60 per cent of the vaping group reported they had completely abstained from smoking in the seven days leading up to the half-year mark of the study, compared to 38.5 per cent of the group that did not use vapes.

Colin Mendelsohn, a retired Australian academic, researcher and smoking cessation clinician, said the results supported the findings from other research and suggested vaping nicotine was an effective quitting aid with a good safety profile.

“After six months, 28.9 per cent of smokers in the intervention group were continuously abstinent from the quit date, compared to 16.3 per cent in the control group,” Dr Mendelsohn said.

“Australian doctors should feel more confident in prescribing vaping products for their smoking patients, especially those unable to quit with other methods.”

While the addition of e-cigarettes to standard counselling ­resulted in greater abstinence from smoking than standard counselling alone, the study also highlighted the downside of this method, with many choosing to continue e-cigarette use.

“About half of the abstainers in the intervention group continued to vape at the end of the study,” Dr Mendelsohn said.

He argued that continued vaping carried only a small fraction of the risk of smoking and can help prevent relapse.

Vapes typically come in a variety of different flavours and are easily disposable. Picture: Getty Images

Battery-powered electronic nicotine delivery systems – better known as e-cigarettes and vapes – reproduce many features of tobacco cigarettes. They deliver lower levels of toxic compounds than conventional cigarettes but the attributes that make them potentially attractive for smoking cessation may also encourage prolonged use.

University of Melbourne associate professor Michelle Jongenelis said vapes must be used under medical supervision. “E-cigarettes are not approved as a smoking cessation device and have not been independently tested for quality, safety, and efficacy by the Therapeutic Goods Administration,” she said.

There are currently no therapeutic vaping substances or devices that have been evaluated by the TGA included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods for smoking cessation or the management of nicotine dependence.

“It is critical that those who use e-cigarettes to quit smoking are then supported to quit the use of e-cigarettes,” Dr Jongenelis said. “They contain harmful chemicals, and ongoing use is not recommended.”

The Albanese government banned the importation of all disposable vapes from January 1, with further controls on non-therapeutic vapes to take effect on March 1.

Unapproved therapeutic vaping substances containing nicotine are still accessible for people with a valid prescription through the Special Access Scheme C pathway.