Do E-Cigarettes Help Smokers Cut Back? Scientists Claim Not Enough Evidence

Do e-cigarettes really help people cut back on smoking? That's a good question, and the jury is still out. Yet scientists have examined the risks of e-cigarettes, and have found that there simply isn't enough evidence to support the claim that these devices help smokers quit the habit.

"Despite the apparent optimism surrounding e-cigarettes and their purported therapeutic role in smoking cessation, there just simply is not enough evidence to suggest that consumers should use e-cigarettes for this purpose," said Andrew Nickels, one of the researchers, in a news release.

E-cigarettes are still fairly new, so researchers aren't sure what long-term complications there could be when it comes to their use. Long-term exposure to the substances used in e-cigarettes could result in health issues-or nothing at all. In addition, because of a lack of production oversight, most consumers don't know what's in the e-cigarettes that they buy.

There's also the issue that those who use e-cigarettes in public may still smoke regular cigarettes at home. This could continue to expose children in the household to secondhand smoke.

"Dual use of both e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes carries the risk of secondhand smoke exposure, causing worsening respiratory effects on children and asthma sufferers," said Chitra Dinakar, one of the researchers, in a news release. "It also promotes ongoing nicotine dependence."

While scientists caution smokers, though, there jury is still out; scientists need to conduct further test to determine whether or not e-cigarettes are truly harmful to a person's health-or worse than regular cigarettes.

Currently, organizations like ACAAI are advocating for enhanced scrutiny and regulation by the FDA. Inhaling irritants, such as smoke and vapors, can impact the lungs. Whether this impact is mild or severe when it comes to e-cigarettes, though, is still unknown.

The findings are published in the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.