The question of whether e-cigarettes are a useful tool for smoking cessation is part of an ongoing and highly controversial scientific debate. In practice, however, the number of people trying to quit tobacco consumption by using these products is steadily increasing. This discussion article provides an outline of the current state of research on the issue of whether and to what extent e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking. Of course, e-cigarettes also have a certain potential for harm, especially if nicotine dependence is unnecessarily prolonged. Nevertheless, it can make an important contribution to harm reduction in nicotine consumption. Hence, the product should get treated as a serious alternative to nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) in the scientific discussion. Like NRTs, e-cigarettes offer a less harmful way of consuming nicotine that greatly reduces many of the health risks associated with tobacco consumption, such as the absorption of carcinogenic substances. Recent studies and reviews suggest that the product can be at least as effective as nicotine replacement therapies in helping people quit smoking. Individual studies even demonstrate the increased effectiveness of e-cigarettes in supporting smoking cessation. Nevertheless, the review of the current literature shows that more high-quality research is needed to further understand the product and its properties. In terms of the harm reduction approach, however, it would already be more appropriate to also rely on e-cigarettes instead of trying to force immediate and complete nicotine abstinence. After all, in the process of quitting smoking, the fastest possible cessation of the more unhealthy consumption of tobacco should be prioritized in order to immediately minimize unnecessary health risks.
| Published in | Journal of Health and Environmental Research (Volume 8, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.jher.20220802.13 |
| Page(s) | 82-88 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Addiction, Tobacco Control, Harm Reduction, Nicotine Replacement
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APA Style
Heino Stöver. (2022). Diversification of Smoking Cessation Programmes - The Role of E-Cigarettes. Journal of Health and Environmental Research, 8(2), 82-88. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20220802.13
ACS Style
Heino Stöver. Diversification of Smoking Cessation Programmes - The Role of E-Cigarettes. J. Health Environ. Res. 2022, 8(2), 82-88. doi: 10.11648/j.jher.20220802.13
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Download@article{10.11648/j.jher.20220802.13,
author = {Heino Stöver},
title = {Diversification of Smoking Cessation Programmes - The Role of E-Cigarettes},
journal = {Journal of Health and Environmental Research},
volume = {8},
number = {2},
pages = {82-88},
doi = {10.11648/j.jher.20220802.13},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20220802.13},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jher.20220802.13},
abstract = {The question of whether e-cigarettes are a useful tool for smoking cessation is part of an ongoing and highly controversial scientific debate. In practice, however, the number of people trying to quit tobacco consumption by using these products is steadily increasing. This discussion article provides an outline of the current state of research on the issue of whether and to what extent e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking. Of course, e-cigarettes also have a certain potential for harm, especially if nicotine dependence is unnecessarily prolonged. Nevertheless, it can make an important contribution to harm reduction in nicotine consumption. Hence, the product should get treated as a serious alternative to nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) in the scientific discussion. Like NRTs, e-cigarettes offer a less harmful way of consuming nicotine that greatly reduces many of the health risks associated with tobacco consumption, such as the absorption of carcinogenic substances. Recent studies and reviews suggest that the product can be at least as effective as nicotine replacement therapies in helping people quit smoking. Individual studies even demonstrate the increased effectiveness of e-cigarettes in supporting smoking cessation. Nevertheless, the review of the current literature shows that more high-quality research is needed to further understand the product and its properties. In terms of the harm reduction approach, however, it would already be more appropriate to also rely on e-cigarettes instead of trying to force immediate and complete nicotine abstinence. After all, in the process of quitting smoking, the fastest possible cessation of the more unhealthy consumption of tobacco should be prioritized in order to immediately minimize unnecessary health risks.},
year = {2022}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Diversification of Smoking Cessation Programmes - The Role of E-Cigarettes AU - Heino Stöver Y1 - 2022/04/28 PY - 2022 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20220802.13 DO - 10.11648/j.jher.20220802.13 T2 - Journal of Health and Environmental Research JF - Journal of Health and Environmental Research JO - Journal of Health and Environmental Research SP - 82 EP - 88 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2472-3592 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20220802.13 AB - The question of whether e-cigarettes are a useful tool for smoking cessation is part of an ongoing and highly controversial scientific debate. In practice, however, the number of people trying to quit tobacco consumption by using these products is steadily increasing. This discussion article provides an outline of the current state of research on the issue of whether and to what extent e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking. Of course, e-cigarettes also have a certain potential for harm, especially if nicotine dependence is unnecessarily prolonged. Nevertheless, it can make an important contribution to harm reduction in nicotine consumption. Hence, the product should get treated as a serious alternative to nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) in the scientific discussion. Like NRTs, e-cigarettes offer a less harmful way of consuming nicotine that greatly reduces many of the health risks associated with tobacco consumption, such as the absorption of carcinogenic substances. Recent studies and reviews suggest that the product can be at least as effective as nicotine replacement therapies in helping people quit smoking. Individual studies even demonstrate the increased effectiveness of e-cigarettes in supporting smoking cessation. Nevertheless, the review of the current literature shows that more high-quality research is needed to further understand the product and its properties. In terms of the harm reduction approach, however, it would already be more appropriate to also rely on e-cigarettes instead of trying to force immediate and complete nicotine abstinence. After all, in the process of quitting smoking, the fastest possible cessation of the more unhealthy consumption of tobacco should be prioritized in order to immediately minimize unnecessary health risks. VL - 8 IS - 2 ER -
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