Survey of 179 Polish e-cigarette users finds 66% of users no longer smoked any cigarettes and 25% smoked fewer than 5 cigarettes per day

[Bill Godshall]

Patterns of electronic cigarette use and user beliefs about their safety and benefits: An Internet survey - Goniewicz - 2012 - Drug and Alcohol Review - Wiley Online Library

Patterns of electronic cigarette use and user beliefs about their safety and benefits: An Internet survey

Drug Alcohol Rev. 2012 Sep 20. doi: 10.1111/j.1465-3362.2012.00512.x. [Epub ahead of print]

Goniewicz ML, Lingas EO, Hajek P.
[h=3]
Abstract[/h]
[h=4]INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: [/h]As the popularity of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) increases, it is becoming important to find out more about the characteristics of e-cigarette users, why and how they use the product and whether e-cigarettes are used exclusively or in combination with conventional cigarettes. The objective of this study was to investigate patterns and effects of e-cigarette use and user beliefs about e-cigarette safety and benefits.
[h=4]
DESIGN AND METHODS: [/h]E-cigarette users in Poland were recruited online and asked to participate in a web-based survey. The participants provided information on their smoking history, patterns of e-cigarette use, beliefs and attitudes regarding the product and information on concurrent use of conventional cigarettes.
[h=4]
RESULTS: [/h]The survey was completed by 179 e-cigarette users. Almost all participants used e-cigarettes daily. E-cigarettes were primarily used to quit smoking or to reduce the harm associated with smoking (both 41%), and were successful in helping the surveyed users to achieve these goals with 66% not smoking conventional cigarettes at all and 25% smoking under five cigarettes a day. Most participants (82%) did not think that e-cigarettes were completely safe, but thought that they were less dangerous than conventional cigarettes. Sixty percent believed that e-cigarettes were addictive, but less so than conventional cigarettes.
[h=4]
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: [/h]The participants primarily used e-cigarettes as a stop-smoking aid or as an alternative to conventional cigarettes, and the majority reported that they successfully stopped smoking. More data on e-cigarette safety and its efficacy in harm-reduction and smoking cessation are needed.

 

[Petrodus]

Personal motivation is always a factor

What is interesting is the study points out 1 out of 4 continue to smoke under 5 at day. I've found this very common amongst those I've converted over the years ... The highly motivated quit smoking all together while some reduce smoking to just a few a day.

My brother and I were in the "highly motivated" group in our family and quit smoking. My sister continues to smoke 3 or so a day. She used to smoke a pack a day. She will probably never stop smoking a few a day...Well, not unless the day comes when she becomes "highly motivated" to stop all together.

 

[xanderxman]

Thanks for the links Bill. Good to see any type of study being done on e-cigs with factual results.

I am in the highly motivated group. I quit the day I received my kit and haven't looked back. Both of my brothers, who I proudly converted, gave up dip rather quickly as well. And the one non-family member I have converted at work has also quit smoking cigs totally.

 

[rolygate]

The majority of new users of e-cigarettes will be dual users, and the majority of long-term users (1 year plus) of e-cigarettes will be exclusive users. Therefore a question such as, "Do you also smoke?" is not very useful. It is also necessary to ask survey participants: "How long have you been using an e-cigarette?"

This would clarify the issue and remove the rather obvious confounder of the time factor. Researchers need to be more experienced themselves before the results they present are usable.

It would be much more useful to know (a) how many are dual users at say 6 months and 12 months, and (b) what percentage of e-cigarette users made it to 6 or 12 months.

And finally it would be even more useful to know what percentage made it to 20 months, as this is the benchmark for judging the success of alternatives to smoking and/or cessation of smoking. We know that the average success rate for NRTs is about 2% at 20 months; for all pharmacotherapies averaged together about 5% (some individual drugs may have a success rate approaching 10% but entail significant risk); and for Snus in Sweden the success rate is far higher than any pharmacotherapy.

The question is, how do e-cigarettes stack up against that? The nearest real-world comparison is the use of Snus, which can reduce smoking by around 45% (only about 11% of Swedes now smoke). Male smoking prevalence has been reduced even more dramatically, by about 55%, as only around 9% of Swedish men now smoke.

It would be useful to have a 20-month figure for the ecig success rate as that will be the clearest pointer yet to the smoking reduction that can be expected eventually due to e-cigarettes.

 

[Petrodus]

More extensive detailed studies would be of benefit
to those in the medical community and to those
in the trenches, fighting the War against E-cigarettes.

I must give credit where credit is due ...
This survey targeted only motivated e-cigarette users.
Motivated to one degree or another.

To the countless Millions around the world who either
switched (no longer smoke) or reduced their smoking
from a pack-a-day to a few cigarettes ... Conclusions
of surveys simply proves the obvious. E-cigarettes are
very helpful to those wishing to stop smoking or reduce smoking.

BP must be pulling their hair out.
There’s another choice for smokers other than
making out their Will and swallowing their Chantix poisons.

 

[Petrodus]

By the way ... In my opinion
Those who have quit smoking with the help of gums, patches, and Chantix poison ...
were ONLY those who were HIGHLY MOTIVATED to quit smoking.

E-smoking, unlike the above, is a safety net for those wishing to quit smoking.
If ya quit with an e-cigarette ... and later smoke a few ... Doesn't
mean ya are hooked again and return to buying a carton a week
like what happens if ya quit using gums, patches, and Chantix poisons.

 

[Stubby]

By the way ... In my opinion
Those who have quit smoking with the help of gums, patches, and Chantix poison ...
were ONLY those who were HIGHLY MOTIVATED to quit smoking.

E-smoking, unlike the above, is a safety net for those wishing to quit smoking.
If ya quit with an e-cigarette ... and later smoke a few ... Doesn't
mean ya are hooked again and return to buying a carton a week
like what happens if ya quit using gums, patches, and Chantix poisons.

Thats a good point which is nearly always overlooked. For those that quit smoking and quit using all tobacco/nicotine products there is nothing to fall back on. One moment of weakness leads to another cigarette and another etc, etc, etc. That's why the long term success rate gets worse. It's quite different for those that quit smoking using low risk alternatives. A moment of weakness is.... no big deal. Lots of people even purposely smoke on occasion and it doesn't lead to a pack a day.

Long term success rates for snus and e-cig users actually increase with time but with the abstinence only crowd the numbers get worse. Even for those that switch to low risk products and then quit all tobacco/nicotine it would be very unlikely they would go back to smoking (unless that was all that was available). It would be very likely they would go back to a low risk product. Snus and e-cigs are not a path to smoking as the zealots like to claim, but a path away from smoking.

As a side note I'm not big on motivation or will power. I have essentially none of the later and to little of the former. It really isn't necessary to quit smoking. What is necessary is good information on alternatives and ready accessibility. If someone has to jump through fire to get good alternatives it's going to greatly reduce the overall success. The PACT act had a huge negative effect on swedish snus use in the US as it is now harder to get and a good deal more expensive. The only thing these anti-tobacco laws are doing is promoting smoking, even among the youth they claim to be protecting.

 

[Petrodus]

Thats a good point which is nearly always overlooked....

EXACTLY !!!
Those doing studies and playing around with numbers and comparisons
would be wise to check in first with us BEFORE spending tons of time
and energy.

Of course, that would ONLY apply to those without hidden agendas.


Ya just can't compare apples with oranges.
E-cigarettes are NOT some kind of BP money making gimmick !!
E-smoking is in a class to itself.

Ya can't compare e-smoking to gums, patches, and BP poisons
except in the most general ways.

 

[Bill Godshall]

Please note that the full text of the survey provides far more details than the free abstract, and that the European authors of this survey are very supportive of e-cigarettes.

I'll try to get a full text version of the survey.

 

[Petrodus]

Please note that the full text of the survey provides far more details than the free abstract, and that the European authors of this survey are very supportive of e-cigarettes.

I'll try to get a full text version of the survey.

Its obvious to me the European authors of this survey are very supportive of e-cigarettes.


My previous comment about comparing quit rates to BP products
was only made to point out there is a "safety net" with e-smoking
that is not present with BP products.

The "off-the-cuff" comment about checking with us ...
If I could go back in time ... I wouldn't have said that.

Again ... I and I'm sure most are pleased by just reading the abstract.

 

[rolygate]

I appreciate that they are supportive. It's just that often it seems if there were some way of educating researchers, less mistakes would be made and/or their results would be more useful.

This is the single most common theme running through e-cigarette research, after all.

 

[Vocalek]

Yes, and Etter's surveys always asked how many puffs per day you take.

Who counts puffs?

I have no idea. I can tell you how many ml of liquid I consume on average...

I'd be willing to bet that the way a newbie keeps track would be by how many cartridges they go through per day, in which case you would need to know the capacity of the cartridge and the percent of nicotine to compute how much nicotine per day they might be consuming. I say "might" because I'm not sure anyone has a good handle on absorption.

 

[Petrodus]

Yes, and Etter's surveys always asked how many puffs per day you take.
Who counts puffs?

How many puffs per day ??
What a IDIOTIC question to ask !!!!

 

[Petrodus]

My 2 Cents ...
Blu wouldn't be expanding at that rate IF they were
frightened about what the FDA might do tomorrow.

 

[NorthOfAtlanta]

My 2 Cents ...
Blu wouldn't be expanding at that rate IF they were
frightened about what the FDA might do tomorrow.

Another possibility is they have decided that there is a good enough market that they are willing to go to court if the FDA comes down to hard on Ecigs. It may be worth more in free publicity than the case cost them if they win.

 

[Petrodus]

The FDA ain't going to just lay down on this and say
"OH, since e-cigs don't harm anyone and save Millions of lives
we will leave well enough alone"

Heck NO ... They couldn't care less about the public health.
That's an Urban Myth !!

Like it or not ... Blu is championing the e-cigarette movement.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah ... They are protecting their interests
and their specific products ... I know !! However, at least we
have a corporation with the power and money to fight

Yeah ... Truth is on our side.
The FDA and BP couldn't care less about the truth.

The FDA lost their case to Ban e-cigs
Now we are getting ready for Round 2 ... Regulations
There is No such thing in AMERICA as LIMITED REGULATION

Now the "Regulator in Chief" was re-elected
I'm wondering why the FDA is delaying making their intentions public
There's reasons ... I'm sure we won't have long to wait before
we hear the other shoe hit the floor.

 

[JENerationX]

My MVP has a puff counter. I've can hit 600 in a day and that's not my only PV.... soooooo this means what???? LOL

 

[Petrodus]

The number of puffs asked of an e-smoker is INSANE
and obviously a question only someone would ask
if they themselves have never smoked.

Some puffs are extremely shallow puffs and some are deep puffs.
Many of us take puffs during the day and don't even inhale !!

 

[subreptice13]

DESIGN AND METHODS:

E-cigarette users in Poland were recruited online and asked to participate in a web-based survey. The participants provided information on their smoking history, patterns of e-cigarette use, beliefs and attitudes regarding the product and information on concurrent use of conventional cigarettes.

but it's not a scientific method . They should have selected people at random. Who knows if they wouldn't have found some people who have quit vaping ?

 

[rothenbj]

The only thing these anti-tobacco laws are doing is promoting smoking, even among the youth they claim to be protecting.

Stubby, I couldn't agree more with your assessment. I'm not sure I would have found snus in today's environment. It was easy and fairly inexpensive to purchase a variety pack of 10 different snuses as a sampler from Sweden. The shipping costs were reasonable and you got a taste of what snus was about and what you liked most. Now many of the options are not available due to PACT and to marginalize shipping costs, you need to place large orders. That's not bad for those of us that know what we like, but for the newbie, it's an expensive gamble.