Study Shows Vaping Helps Just 10 Percent Of Smokers Quit

The majority of smokers who use e-cigs to quit are still smoking after a year.

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The Wall Street Journal reports US adult smokers who did not use electronic vaping devices to aid in smoking cessation were more than twice as likely to quit smoking as those who did, a new study published in PLOS One concludes. The study also found that 90 percent of smokers who vaped at the start of the study were still smoking a year later. The researchers said they did not find evidence that vaping devices helped adult smokers quit at higher rates than those who did not use the products.

The Washington Times reports “e-cigarettes are an ineffective tool for smoking cessation,” the survey of 858 smokers suggests. The article says “more and more research has found that e-cigarette use isn’t a reliable path to quitting cigarettes.”

Meanwhile, more and more youth are using the devices. They are the most popular tobacco products among youth and many aren't aware of what the devices contain.

The Truth Initiative reports that the numbers of youth vaping may be even higher than we think as accurately measuring youth vaping is challenging due to the variety of products and their rapid growth in recent years.

The Truth Initiative reports that Survey data rely on self-reporting, and the terminology surrounding these electronic devices continues to evolve and may not be accurately captured in survey options. For example, a young person who says they “vape” or “JUUL” may not consider the products they use to be e-cigarettes, and may not report use on a survey that only uses that term. Many young people also do not know that the products they use contain nicotine, and that lack of awareness could be causing significant underestimates in reports of nicotine consumption.

According to Truth, 63 percent of JUUL users did not know that the product always contains nicotine.

New data from the 2017 Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) shows that, on average, Vermont middle school and high school students are more likely to have tried electronic vapor products like e-cigarettes in 2017 compared to 2015, increasing from 7% to 9% for middle schoolers and from 30% to 34% for high schoolers.

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