New Study Reveals E-Cigarettes May Help Smokers Kick the Smoking Habit

There's been a lot of speculation on whether e-cigarettes can help a person quit smoking, or if it's all just publicity. Now, a new study reveals that people attempting to quit smoking without professional help are about 60 percent more likely to succeed if they use e-cigarettes than if they use willpower alone, or over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapies.

E-cigarettes have made headlines the past several weeks after health professionals have questioned their safety. The refillable, liquid nicotine cartridges in particular can cause poisonings if not handled properly and used in a safe manner. And while the e-cigarette has long be touted as a device that can help smokers quit, there's been no proof-until now.

The scientists surveyed 5,863 smokers between 2009 and 2014 who had attempted to quit smoking without the aid of prescription medication or professional support. They found that 20 percent of the people trying to quit with the aid of e-cigarettes stopped smoking conventional cigarettes at the time of the survey.

"E-cigarettes could substantially improve public health because of their widespread appeal and the huge health gains associated with stopping smoking," said Robert West, one of the researchers, in a news release. "However, we should also recognize that the strongest evidence remains for use of the NHS stop-smoking services. These almost triple a smoker's odds of successfully quitting compared with going it alone or relying on over-the-counter products."

Currently, the scientists are planning to continue to monitor success rates in people using e-cigarettes to stop smoking. This should allow them to see whether there are improvements as devices become more advanced. That said, researchers aren't sure whether e-cigarette users are likely to use the device indefinitely.

"It is not clear whether long-term use of e-cigarettes carries health risks but from what is known about the contents of the vapor, these will be much less than from smoking," said West in a news release. "Some public health experts have expressed concern that widespread use of e-cigarettes could 're-normalize' smoking. However, we are tracking this very closely and see no evidence of it."

The findings are published in the journal Addiction.