In a recent study published in the journal BMJ, in which researchers analyzed survey data from over 160,000 people spanning almost 15 years, one major argument surrounding electronic cigarettes appears to be put to rest.
It turns out, after much debate, electronic cigarettes do help people try to quit smoking.
Moreover, the data suggests that smokers who used electronic cigarettes tried to quit smoking more often and succeeded (for at least three months) more often than smokers who did not utilize electronic cigarettes.
While e-cigs are certainly still harmful and not recommended as an alternative to smoking, they are technically “healthier”.
Combined with the fact that e-cigs play a role in helping people quit, it would appear they play an important role in the lives of people attempting to cease smoking.
However, it remains to be seen if electronic cigarettes are attractive to a demographic who may have otherwise never started smoking at all.
All in all, the results show that 65 percent of electronic cigarette users attempted to quit smoking, compared to 40 percent of people who smoked but didn’t use electronic cigarettes.
In addition, the number of people who quit smoking increased by 1.1 percentage points in 2015 from 2011, approximately 350,000 people.
