<p>People who use electronic cigarettes, which are widely promoted and used to help smokers quit traditional cigarettes, are actually 28 per cent less likely to kick the butt, a new study has warned.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Electronic cigarettes, known by a variety of names including vapour pens, are battery-powered devices that heat nicotine and flavourings to deliver an aerosol inhaled by the user.<br /><br />While they are promoted as a way to quit traditional cigarettes, they also are promoted as a way to get nicotine in environments where traditional cigarettes are prohibited.<br /><br />Researchers at the University of California in San Francisco (UCSF) reviewed 38 studies assessing the association between e-cigarette use and cigarette cessation among adult smokers.<br /><br />They then combined the results of the 20 studies that had control groups of smokers not using e-cigarettes in a meta-analysis that concluded that the odds of quitting smoking were 28 per cent lower in smokers who used e-cigarettes compared to those who did not.<br /><br />The studies included smokers who both were and were not interested in quitting, and included people as young as 15 years old.<br /><br />The studies included in the analysis controlled for many variables, including demographics, past attempts to quit, and level of nicotine dependence.<br /><br />"The irony is that quitting smoking is one of the main reasons both adults and kids use e-cigarettes, but the overall effect is less, not more, quitting," said Stanton A Glantz from UCSF.<br /><br />"While there is no question that a puff on an e-cigarette is less dangerous than a puff on a conventional cigarette, the most dangerous thing about e-cigarettes is that they keep people smoking conventional cigarettes," he added.<br /><br />The findings were published in the journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.</p>
<p>People who use electronic cigarettes, which are widely promoted and used to help smokers quit traditional cigarettes, are actually 28 per cent less likely to kick the butt, a new study has warned.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Electronic cigarettes, known by a variety of names including vapour pens, are battery-powered devices that heat nicotine and flavourings to deliver an aerosol inhaled by the user.<br /><br />While they are promoted as a way to quit traditional cigarettes, they also are promoted as a way to get nicotine in environments where traditional cigarettes are prohibited.<br /><br />Researchers at the University of California in San Francisco (UCSF) reviewed 38 studies assessing the association between e-cigarette use and cigarette cessation among adult smokers.<br /><br />They then combined the results of the 20 studies that had control groups of smokers not using e-cigarettes in a meta-analysis that concluded that the odds of quitting smoking were 28 per cent lower in smokers who used e-cigarettes compared to those who did not.<br /><br />The studies included smokers who both were and were not interested in quitting, and included people as young as 15 years old.<br /><br />The studies included in the analysis controlled for many variables, including demographics, past attempts to quit, and level of nicotine dependence.<br /><br />"The irony is that quitting smoking is one of the main reasons both adults and kids use e-cigarettes, but the overall effect is less, not more, quitting," said Stanton A Glantz from UCSF.<br /><br />"While there is no question that a puff on an e-cigarette is less dangerous than a puff on a conventional cigarette, the most dangerous thing about e-cigarettes is that they keep people smoking conventional cigarettes," he added.<br /><br />The findings were published in the journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.</p>