SHOCKER! Study Finds Nicotine-Free E-Cigarettes Don’t Help Smokers Quit
A study carried out by Cancer Council South Australia recently concluded that electronic cigarettes don’t help smokers quit, while also mentioning that most of the participants used nicotine-free e-cigs.
Researchers will be presenting their findings in detail at the 2015 Oceania Tobacco Control Conference in Perth, but, according to an article published on ABC Australia, the study pulled data from Quitline callers during an eight-month period which included 36 people using e-cigarettes, 36 clients reporting previous use and 15 who had not used the devices.
The article mentions that “many e-cigarette devices used did not contain nicotine cartridges and some people were using them in conjunction with other pharmacotherapies.” Despite this vital piece of information, Cancer Council SA manager of tobacco control Lauren Maksimovic had the audacity to say that the majority of e-cigarette smokers reported that the devices failed to help reduce their cravings or quit.
You don’t say, nicotine-free and still ineffective? My jaw just dropped…
“A majority of the people reported that they were using them to try to quit attempts,” Maksimovic said. “They were also using them to replace the hand to mouth action … and what we found was that didn’t help them to quit smoking.
“A lot of people in our study found that it was too similar to smoking, they were using that hand to mouth action but it actually enhanced their smoking. It was just the same thing, they were continuing to smoke.”
While the hand to mouth action might help smokers at a psychological level, expecting nicotine-free electronic cigarettes to work miracles on heavy smokers is just crazy. Most pharmaceutical quit aids contain nicotine for a reason. I suggest the researchers do another study on nicotine gum, patches or inhalers without the nicotine and report the findings… I bet they’ll be shocked.
It’s mind-blowing how such research receives mainstream media attention, while other relevant studies that actually show the effectiveness of e-cigarettes – yes, the ones with nicotine in them – in helping smokers quit only show up in medical journals and vaping forums. No wonder more and more people believe e-cigarettes don’t help people quit and that they are as bad for our health as tobacco cigarettes.
