Invented in 2003 by Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik, electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, have been sold in Europe since 2006 and in the U.S. since 2007. E-cigarette has been subject to much controversy since its market introduction.
While anti-tobacco groups want to ban the sale of e-cigarettes due to lack of regulation and lack of scientific evidence to back the supposed benefits, its supporters have claimed that the device is a safe alternative to conventional cigarettes and that it might help smokers quit tobacco.
Now, the first ever trial to compare e-cigarettes with nicotine patches, the results of which were presented today, seem to support the proponents' claim.
The study conducted by a team of researchers led by Associate Professor Chris Bullen, Director of the National Institute for Health Innovation at The University of Auckland in New Zealand, has found that e-cigarettes are comparable with nicotine patches in helping smokers to quit.
As part of the research, 657 smokers who wanted to quit smoking were enrolled in the trial. The participants received 13 weeks' supply of any three smoking cessation aids - a group of 292 people received commercially available e-cigarettes, each of which contained around 16mg nicotine; another group of 292 people received nicotine patches and the remaining 73 participants received placebo e-cigarettes, which contained no nicotine.
After the 13-week trial, the participants were followed up at 3 months to establish whether they had managed to remain abstinent from cigarettes.
According to the trial results, though not statistically significant, the percentage of participants who successfully quit was the highest in the e-cigarettes group (7.3%) compared to 5.8% in the nicotine patches group and 4.1% in the placebo e-cigarettes group.
Additionally, there was no statistically significant difference in any adverse changes to health reported by participants in the e-cigarettes and the nicotine patches group, say the researchers.
Commenting on the findings, Professor Bullen said, "Our study establishes a critical benchmark for e-cigarette performance compared to nicotine patches and placebo e-cigarettes, but there is still so much that is unknown about the effectiveness and long-term effects of e-cigarettes. Given the increasing popularity of these devices in many countries, and the accompanying regulatory uncertainty and inconsistency, larger, longer-term trials are urgently needed to establish whether these devices might be able to fulfill their potential as effective and popular smoking cessation aids."
The study is published in The Lancet.
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