A new study published in the Journal of Harm Reduction from the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School suggests that e-cigarettes can help smokers quit and may be better at staying smoke-free in the long term.

The study authors conducted in-depth interviews with 40 e-cigarette users, covering each participant’s smoking history, e-cigarette settings (including juice preferences), how they discovered e-cigarettes, and previous quit attempts.

Among the 40 e-cigarette users at the end of the study:

31 used e-cigarettes only (19 reported minor errors),
6 reported relapses (5 dual use)
Three participants have completely quit smoking and smoking
The study also provides evidence that smokers who try e-cigarettes may eventually give up, even if they had no intention of quitting in the first place.

The majority of vapers interviewed said they were rapidly switching from smoking to vaping, while a small percentage were gradually switching from dual-use (cigarettes and vaping) to vaping only.

Although some participants in the study occasionally relapsed, either for social or emotional reasons, relapse did not usually lead to participants switching back to full-time smoking.

E-cigarettes are at least 95% less harmful than smoking and they are now the UK’s most popular smoking cessation aid.
Principal Investigator Dr Caitlin Notley from UEA Norwich Medical School
However, the idea of ​​using e-cigarettes to quit smoking, especially with long-term use, remains controversial.

We found that e-cigarettes may support long-term smoking cessation.

Not only does it replace many of the physical, psychological, social and cultural aspects of smoking, but it is inherently pleasurable, more convenient and less expensive than smoking.

But what we found really interesting is that e-cigarettes may also encourage people who don’t even want to quit smoking to eventually quit.
Dr. Caitlin Notley continues to comment

Here is the conclusion of the study, which pretty much sums it all up:

Our data suggest that e-cigarettes may be a unique harm reduction innovation that prevents smoking relapse.

E-cigarettes meet the needs of some ex-smokers by replacing the physical, psychological, social, cultural, and identity-related aspects of tobacco addiction.

Some e-cigarette users report that they find e-cigarettes enjoyable and enjoyable—not just an alternative, but actually prefer smoking over time.

This clearly demonstrates that e-cigarettes are a viable long-term smoking alternative with important implications for tobacco harm reduction.

Reading the study results and the quotes from the participants, I found statements that echoed the experiences of other vapers, echoing statements that were often heard, even some of my own trying to switch from smoking to vaping.