A recent study showed that smoking e-cigarettes may not help people quit smoking. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had earlier suggested that if smoking is not possible, smokers can switch from smoking cigarettes to e-cigarettes. This has one condition: smokers must switch to e-cigarettes completely and avoid re-smoking regular cigarettes. However, the JAMA Network Open report shows that e-cigarettes are not very helpful for keeping smokers away from ordinary cigarettes. The research was conducted by the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Sciences at the University of California, San Diego and the Moorse Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego.

E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that can heat heterogeneous liquids to create aerosols. This liquid is made of nicotine, added spices and other chemicals. Aerosols are considered an alternative to smoking.

The report, published in the online journal JAMA Network Open on October 19, stated that the study “shows that switching to e-cigarettes (even daily) has nothing to do with helping smokers quit smoking.”

Dr. John P. Pierce, a distinguished professor at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and the University of California San Diego Moorse Cancer Center, said: “Our research results show that people who quit smoking and switch to e-cigarettes or other tobacco products actually increase their risk and Compared with those who quit all tobacco products, the number of people who will re-smoker next year is 8.5 percentage points higher.”

E-cigarettes are becoming more and more popular because medical experts earlier recommended e-cigarettes as a way to stay away from cigarettes. However, Pierce suggested: “Evidence shows that switching to e-cigarettes makes it less likely to quit smoking, not more likely.”

The data used by the researchers comes from a longitudinal study of the Tobacco and Healthy Population Assessment (PATH) on tobacco use and its effects on people. The research was conducted by the National Institute of Drug Abuse and the Tobacco Products Center of the US FDA. The team considered 13,604 smokers between 2013 and 2015. The observations are based on two consecutive annual surveys that explored changes in the use of 12 tobacco products.

News Source : Gadgets 360