Quit Methods Used by American Smokers, 2013–2014

Introduction:
This text provides an analysis of the quit methods used by American smokers in the baseline Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study during 2013-2014. The study describes the frequency of using different quit methods and the association between past year former smokers and single quit method, including individual characteristics.

Key Points:

* The study included 11,402 current smokers and 4919 former smokers.
* Unaided quit attempts were the most common, followed by help from friends and family, e-cigarettes, NRT, prescription drugs, counseling, and other tobacco products.
* Use of e-cigarettes was the only method with higher odds of users being a former smoker than unaided attempts.
* Current use of e-cigarettes among current and former smokers was significantly higher than current use of NRT.
* The study shows that e-cigarettes were used as quit-smoking aids in 2013-2014 more frequently than NRT products or prescription drugs.
* The study meets some of the criteria recently proposed for studies related to e-cigarettes and smoking cessation.
* Among former smokers who had used e-cigarettes as a single quit method, 54% were still using them at the time of the survey.

Main Message:
The main message of the text is that e-cigarettes were used by American adult smokers as quit-smoking aids in 2013-2014 more frequently than NRT products or prescription drugs. Additionally, e-cigarettes were the only single quit method with a significantly higher proportion of former smokers than unaided quitting. This suggests that e-cigarettes may be an effective tool for smoking cessation and warrant further research and consideration in tobacco control efforts.

Rodu, Brad, and Nantaporn Plurphanswat. “Quit Methods Used by American Smokers, 2013–2014.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 14, no. 11 (November 17, 2017): 1403. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14111403.