Italian research shows: e-cigarette is an effective tool to reduce tobacco consumption

Italian research shows: e-cigarette is an effective tool to reduce tobacco consumption

On July 19, a study recently published in "Addictive Behavior" once again demonstrated the efficacy and safety of e-cigarettes in helping smokers reduce tobacco consumption and improve their lung health.

The study titled "E-cigarettes on the benefits of reducing tobacco and lung health in chronic smokers who undergo lung cancer screening within six months" aims to determine whether e-cigarettes are considered effective and safe in supporting smoking cessation.

A total of 210 smokers aged 55 and over were recruited for the study. They smoked an average of 10 cigarettes for at least 10 years. They were randomly divided into three groups, one group was given nicotine e-cigarettes, one group was given placebo (no nicotine), and the control group was not given e-cigarettes. All participants accepted a three-month smoking cessation program, which included a cognitive behavioral program to support them to change behavior and increase motivation to quit smoking.

Data collected through self-reported measurements, clinical evaluations, and the Leicester Cough Questionnaire found that among the participants who were still smoking for 6 months, there was a significant difference in the number of cigarettes smoked per day between the two groups, while the nicotine cigarette group averaged daily 11 cigarettes smoked, while the nicotine-free e-cigarette group smoked 14 cigarettes per day, while the control group smoked 13.5 cigarettes.

Among people who still smoked for 6 months, another group difference was the significant difference in exhaled CO between the two groups (p <0.025). The average exhaled CO of participants in the nicotine e-cigarette group was 12.0, while the average exhaled CO of participants in the nicotine-free e-cigarette group was 15.3, and that of the control group was 16.5. (From a health perspective, a lower exhaled carbon dioxide ratio is preferable).

Discover again that e-cigarettes can effectively quit smoking

Finally, there were also significant differences in nicotine dependence between the two groups (p <0.032). All participants had a moderate to low degree of dependence within 6 months; the average core value of smokers in the nicotine e-cigarette group was 3.12, while the average core value of smokers in the e-cigarette group without nicotine was 3.32, while the control The group is 3.59.

The researchers concluded that after 6 months, about 20% of the entire sample stopped smoking. Participants who used e-cigarettes and nicotine smoked less than any other group after 6 months