Vapes better than NRTs

Vapes are more effective than NRTs (nicotine replacement treatment), according to a stop-smoking review conducted by scientists in the US and the UK.

The scientists searched for studies looking at the use of vapes for stopping smoking. They looked for ‘randomised controlled trials’ because in these studies, people are given a treatment at random, which makes the results more reliable.

The studies compared nicotine vaping products with NRTs like gums, patches and lozenges; heated tobacco products; non-nicotine vapes; counselling and advise; no treatment and a medicine used for stopping smoking called varenicline.

The results show that:

• People using nicotine vapes are more likely to stop smoking for 6 months than those NRTs or non-nicotine vapes.
• Nicotine vapes also helped more people stop smoking than behavioural support (counselling etc)
• Those who vaped (nicotine) or used NRTs had similar side effects such as headache and mouth irritation, but these effects reduced over time.

These reviews are ongoing and the scientists who do them are always looking for more information, particularly as newer devices with better nicotine delivery come on the market.

The study was done jointly by scientists from the University of Oxford in the UK and the University of Massachusetts in the US.