Any randomized clinical trials showing that e-cigs help smokers quit?

[Bethzilla]

He got links to that study on the thread that he started on November 16th, but has ignored it.

I guess we'll have to be quicker on the draw next time. Lesse, posted November 16th, posted again November 18th, what do you bet we see it again on November 20th?

Incidentally, the ECF page was one of the top three hits when I Goggled "Italian e-cigarette trial" so it's not hard to find.

 

[Luisa]

Okay...so it sounds like the answer is "no", there are no randomized trials of e-cigs assessing their safety and efficecy for smoking cessation in comparison with other treatments. Not one published comparative study. Maybe thats why health professionals are hesitant to recommend them to the public?[/Quote Go to the CASSA site and you will find all the research studies including the infamous FDA research paper in its" entirety. Even the FDA report found nothing harmful in either the inhaled or exhaled vapor. There is beginning to be more and more research so just go to the CASSA site.

 

[dormouse]

Re help people quit smoking - most people here quit smoking immediately, as soon as they started vaping instead. And a poll somewhere on ECF showed 85% quit smoking, 7 percent still smoke a few cigarettes as well as vaping, 6 percent still smoking. And some people have quit smoking accidentally - no intention at all to attempt quitting smoking and only bought an ecig out of curiosity, then suddenly noticed they didn't need cigarettes any more.

Read this 60 page thread
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...97-does-vaping-really-helps-quit-smoking.html

 

[Big Screen D]

And some people have quit smoking accidentally - no intention at all to attempt quitting smoking and only bought and ecig out of curiosity, then suddenly noticed they didn't need cigarettes any more.

That would be me. I loved smoking. Even as a kid, I loved the smell of my relatives cigarettes. Dropped the analogs like the bad habit that they are.

 

[Robnoxious]

I looked for studies as well,TOUGH TO FIND!!!! Take a look at wikipedia just type in e-cigarettes. They have a ton of info on them. Hope it helps you find what your looking for!!!

 

[Spazmelda]

The Italian study is probably the best so far to show that they are effective. The researchers there only accepted people into the study who had no intention to quit smoking, and many of them ended up cutting back or quitting. You can look at the study to see what the exact percentages were, but it was pretty impressive (especially when compared to the quit success rates of standard NRTs among people who *actually wanted to quit*).

The FDA paper is probably the best to show the safety, if you actually read the paper and look at the data. LOL! Their data tells a much different story than the spin they put on it.

 

[zogu]

That would be me. I loved smoking. Even as a kid, I loved the smell of my relatives cigarettes. Dropped the analogs like the bad habit that they are.

Similar with me, but I'm still using 3-5 analogs per day.
About safety, I think that juices are 100% safe, but cartomizer material is my concern, how many times you tasted burn smell? All plastics are cancerous, and before i learned how to use it, i think that i vape all plastic from few of my cartomizers, I bought it with very strong e-juice and i didn't like it, but i could not find difference between aroma and burned smell from filler.
They are still not safe.

 

[Michael Curry]

They are still not safe.

Cars aren't safe either, if you fail to control them properly and crash them into trees.

 

[zogu]

Cars aren't safe either, if you fail to control them properly and crash them into trees.

But somehow i think that cars have better controls....

 

[Michael Curry]

But somehow i think that cars have better controls....

The scenario described actually had zero to do with the equipment, it was operator error all the way. Doesn't matter if it's a car, a hammer, or an e-cig. You use it wrong, you get unintended consequences. Hardly the fault of the equipment, and certainly not a condemnation of the safety of said equipment.

 

[Starlight682]

But somehow i think that cars have better controls....

all i know is i had horrible lung problems and i do mean horrible before i started using e cigs and now about a month later they are all almost completely gone only coughing up the crap that's left in my lungs from smoking so to me these are a life saver literally

just had to add that my pulmonary doctor recommended e cigs and i haven't looked back, i had tried every other stop smoking invention and all have either not worked or had horrible side effects(chantex and the patch) this to me is way safer than those other treatments .... just my two cents

 

[jfjardine02]

Windwalker...I agree that this is the best study so far...because it is the only published clinical trial, but Im confused by your describing it as "randomizing with control and placebo". In reality there were only 40 participants, all were given the same e-cigs (i.e no comparison group, no randomizing to placebo) and at 6m 23% had quit. It is useful pilot study but it is not a randomized clinical trial comaring e-cigs with anything else.

 

[jfjardine02]

He got links to that study on the thread that he started on November 16th, but has ignored it.

No he didnt ignore it...he is new on this forum and couldnt find it so thought it hadnt been posted! But thanks to people pointing out the Italian study by Polosa and colleagues. But just to be clear, that is a very small study (40 people) with no comparison group. All 40 people in the study were given the same type of e-cigs and followed up for 6m. 23% had quit smoking, which is pretty good, but because there was no randomized comparison group (i.e. who were randomly allocated to a comparison treatment such as e-cigs with zero nic, or another treatment like the nicotine inhaler etc) there is nothing to compare it to. I heard that a group in New Zealand may have started a proper randomized clinical trial, but to date I dont think there is a single published prospective parrallel group randomized clinical trial comparing e-cigs with anything else for smoking cessation (and also assessing safety, side effects etc). Why dont the manufacturers do such a study?

 

[jfjardine02]

Apologies but there is another thread on this very topic...I just couldnt find it so thought it wasnt posted....probably best to reply on that one rather then have multiple threads on same question....my bad.

 

[Bethzilla]

That's a great study and thanks to windwalker for posting the link to the full paper! I don't think it can be described as a controlled study with placebo, however. Indeed, the authors say as much in the last paragraph before the conclusions:

"There are some limitations in our study. Firstly, this was a small uncontrolled study, hence the results observed may be due to a chance finding and not to a true effect; consequently the results should be interpreted with caution. However, it would have been quite problematic to have a placebo arm in such a study. "

 

[swedishfish]

Even with it's limitations, it sure beats out the results for patches.

 

[Bethzilla]

I heard that a group in New Zealand may have started a proper randomized clinical trial, but to date I dont think there is a single published prospective parrallel group randomized clinical trial comparing e-cigs with anything else for smoking cessation (and also assessing safety, side effects etc). Why dont the manufacturers do such a study?

Presumably, they don't do it because of the expense. The e-cigarette companies are quite small by comparison with pharma and tobacco companies. I'm glad to hear the New Zealanders may have something for us soon. Do you have any more information about that?

 

[ChemicalSmiles]

23% sounds GOOD to me!

this is day 15 with no cigs for me

 

[frosting]

Why dont the manufacturers do such a study?

Do you have any idea how much money it costs to do those kinds of studies? Electronic cigarettes are an emerging technology who don't have the money "muscle" yet so to speak. For right now the industry has to count on cigarette cessation scientists being interested enough to take a look, which some are.

I can say with certainty, going about trying electronic cigarettes to reduce tobacco consumption is 100 times safer then chantix!

I have to ask jfjardine02 , are you a cold turkey quitter? Just kinda comes off that way as so much great information has been given that you seem to want to find reasons to dismiss. No offense, just seems that way.

 

[jfjardine02]

Swedishfish...no..it doesnt. When 2 methods havnt been compared head to head in a randomized clinical trial you really cant say what beats what...or what causes more adverse events. Thats not to say that if someone did a good e-cig v patch or inhaler clinical trial that e-cig wouldnt win....it might. Its just that there hasnt been a single randomized trial showing that e-cigs are better than anything, whereas for patch etc there have been dozens showing its better than placebo.