STILL NOT HELPFUL
For some reason, researchers just cannot let it go. Ever since e-cigarettes have come on the market, researchers have been trying to find some value in their use. The most common area of investigation is trying to use e-cigarettes to help people stop smoking.
The most recent study I reviewed on this subject included 3 categories of patients, those that used nicotine-containing e-cigarettes (the nicotine content was controlled) along with individual counseling; those that used non-nicotine containing e-cigarettes along with counseling; and those that used counseling alone. The study went for 12 weeks, hardly enough time for a real-world experience. Patients were given the e-cigarettes and the counseling was individual for sessions of 20 minutes or more. They could also use their own cigarettes if needed.
Not surprisingly, it was found that patients who used e-cigarettes with nicotine and counseling were smoke-free at 12 weeks, at which point the e-cigarettes were taken back. The same procedure was followed for the non-nicotine plus counseling group and the counseling alone group, and less of either group were smoke-free at 12 weeks.
The long term follow-up was more telling since none of the patients were followed for a year or more, however, some continued to use e-cigarettes that they now bought on their own.
I wish we would stop trying to put a square peg into a round hole. Stopping smoking is very difficult, but why encourage another equally dangerous habit to make it happen.
