E-cigarette use and smoking reduction or cessation in the 2010/2011 TUS-CPS longitudinal cohort

Introduction:
This text is a research article that examines the relationship between e-cigarette use and smoking cessation or reduction in a longitudinal cohort from the 2010/2011 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS). The study aims to determine if ever-use of e-cigarettes among early adopters was associated with increased cigarette smoking cessation and reduced cigarette consumption.

Key Points:

* The study used a representative cohort of U.S. smokers (N=2454) from the 2010 TUS-CPS, which was re-interviewed 1 year later.
* The outcomes were smoking cessation for 30+ days and change in cigarette consumption at follow-up.
* E-cigarette use was categorized as for cessation purposes or for another reason.
* Multivariate regression was used to adjust for demographics and baseline cigarette dependence level.
* In 2011, an estimated 12% of adult U.S. smokers had ever used e-cigarettes, and 41% of these reported use to help quit smoking.
* Smokers who had used e-cigarettes for cessation were less likely to be quit for 30+ days at follow-up, compared to never-users who tried to quit (11.1% vs 21.6%).
* Among heavier smokers at baseline (15+ cigarettes per day), ever-use of e-cigarettes was not associated with change in smoking consumption.
* Lighter smokers (<15 CPD) who had ever used e-cigarettes for quitting had stable consumption, while increased consumption was observed among all other lighter smokers.

Main Message:
The study found that among early adopters, ever-use of first generation e-cigarettes to aid quitting cigarette smoking was not associated with improved cessation or with reduced consumption, even among heavier smokers. These findings suggest that it is premature to conclude that e-cigarettes will be helpful to smokers who make a quit attempt or that they will be an effective way for smokers, especially heavy smokers, to reduce the number of cigarettes that they smoke each day. Further research is needed to assess the role of e-cigarettes in changing smoking behavior, including advertising content and smokers' attitudes and beliefs regarding these products.

Shi, Yuyan, John P. Pierce, Martha White, Maya Vijayaraghavan, Wilson Compton, Kevin Conway, Anne M. Hartman, and Karen Messer. “E-Cigarette Use and Smoking Reduction or Cessation in the 2010/2011 TUS-CPS Longitudinal Cohort.” BMC Public Health 16, no. 1 (December 2016): 1105. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3770-x.