Association of prevalence of electronic cigarette use with smoking cessation and cigarette consumption in England: a time-series analysis between 2006 and 2017.

Introduction:
This article presents a time-series analysis of the association between electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use and smoking cessation activities and cigarette consumption among remaining smokers in England up to 2017. The study aims to provide up-to-date estimates of the impact of e-cigarette use on smoking cessation and cigarette consumption, building on a prior report of a time-series analysis up to 2015.

Key Points:

* The study uses data from the Smoking Toolkit Study (STS), a repeated, cross-sectional household survey of individuals aged 16 years and older in England.
* The authors examined the association between e-cigarette use and three smoking cessation outcomes: prevalence of quit attempts, overall quit rates, and mean cigarette consumption per day among current smokers.
* They also analyzed the association between e-cigarette use during a quit attempt and quit success rate and overall quit rates.
* The study controlled for potential confounders, including mass media expenditure and affordability of tobacco.
* The results indicate that increases in prevalence of e-cigarette use in England were positively associated with overall quit rates and quit success rates, but not clearly associated with the prevalence of quit attempts or mean daily cigarette consumption.
* The sensitivity analysis suggests that, in more recent years, e-cigarette prevalence may be associated with a decline in average cigarette consumption.
* The authors estimate that e-cigarette use in quit attempts and overall quit rates may have contributed to approximately 50,700 and 69,930 additional past-year smokers who reported quitting smoking in 2017, respectively.

Main Message:
The study provides evidence that e-cigarette use in England has been positively associated with smoking cessation outcomes, suggesting that e-cigarettes may be a useful tool for smoking cessation. The results indicate that e-cigarette use has contributed to an increase in overall quit rates and quit success rates among smokers in England. However, the study did not find a clear association between e-cigarette use and the prevalence of quit attempts or mean daily cigarette consumption. Overall, the study suggests that e-cigarettes may be a promising harm reduction strategy for smokers looking to quit.

Beard E, West R, Michie S, Brown J. Association of prevalence of electronic cigarette use with smoking cessation and cigarette consumption in England: a time-series analysis between 2006 and 2017. Addiction (Abingdon, England). 2020;115(5):961-974. doi:10.1111/add.14851