November 2022 Podcast

Let's talk e-cigarettes

In this episode Associate Professor Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Dr Nicola Lindson discuss the emerging evidence in e-cigarette research and summarise the findings of the newly published update to the Cochrane review of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation. This podcast is a companion to the electronic cigarettes Cochrane living systematic review and shares the evidence from the monthly searches. In the November 2022 episode Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Nicola Lindson bring us up to date with the latest findings from our Cochrane review of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation. The latest Cochrane Review finds high certainty evidence that nicotine e-cigarettes are more effective than traditional nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT) in helping people quit smoking. Jamie and Nicola summarise their research led by the University of Oxford, and funded by Cancer Research UK, which has found the strongest evidence yet that e-cigarettes, also known as 'vapes', help people to quit smoking better than traditional nicotine replacement therapies, such as patches and chewing gums. The new evidence published in the Cochrane Library finds high certainty evidence that people are more likely to stop smoking for at least six months using nicotine e-cigarettes, or 'vapes', than using nicotine replacement therapies, such as patches and gums. Evidence also suggested that nicotine e-cigarettes led to higher quit rates than e-cigarettes without nicotine, or no stop smoking intervention, but less data contributed to these analyses. The updated Cochrane review includes 78 studies in over 22,000 participants - an addition of 22 studies since the last update in 2021. Smoking is a significant global health problem. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), in 2020, 22.3% of the global population used tobacco, despite it killing up to half of its users. Stopping smoking reduces the risk of lung cancer, heart attacks and many other diseases. Though most people who smoke want to quit, many find it difficult to do so permanently. Nicotine patches and gum are safe, effective and widely used methods to help individuals quit. E-cigarettes heat liquids with nicotine and flavourings, allowing users to 'vape' nicotine instead of smoking. Data from the review showed that if six in 100 people quit by using nicotine replacement therapy, eight to twelve would quit by using electronic cigarettes containing nicotine. This means an additional two to six people in 100 could potentially quit smoking with nicotine containing electronic cigarettes. For more information on the full Cochrane review updated in September 2021 see: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010216.pub7/full or our webpage https://www.cebm.ox.ac.uk/research/electronic-cigarettes-for-smoking-cessation-cochrane-living-systematic-review-1 This podcast is supported by Cancer Research UK.