associations between dual use of e-cigarettes and smoking cessation: a prospective study of smokers in England.

Introduction:
This article presents the findings of a prospective cohort study examining the relationship between dual use of e-cigarettes and smoking cessation rates among smokers in England. The study aims to address the controversy around whether dual use of e-cigarettes reduces quitting among smokers.

Key Points:

* The study used data from the Smoking Toolkit Study, a monthly cross-sectional survey of adults in England.
* The analytic sample consisted of 1,498 current smokers who provided complete data on current use of e-cigarettes and NRT and all covariates at baseline.
* The exposure was dual use of e-cigarettes, dual use of NRT, or exclusive smoking.
* The outcomes were overall quit rate, past-year quit attempts, and success of quit attempts at 12-month follow-up.
* after adjusting for covariates, dual users of e-cigarettes were no less likely to quit than exclusive smokers (OR = 1.31, 90% CI 0.90 - 1.89).
* Dual users of e-cigarettes were more likely to attempt to quit than exclusive smokers (OR = 1.27, 95% CI 0.95 - 1.69), but this difference was not significant after adjusting for covariates.
* among those attempting to quit, success rates did not differ significantly between dual users of e-cigarettes, dual users of NRT, or exclusive smokers.
* Dual users of e-cigarettes were less likely to make a quit attempt than dual users of NRT (OR = 0.61, 95% CI 0.38 - 0.98).

Main Message:
The study found that dual use of e-cigarettes was not associated with reduced overall quit rates compared with exclusive smoking or dual use of NRT. however, dual use of e-cigarettes was associated with a slightly higher quit attempt rate than exclusive smoking but lower than dual use of NRT. These findings suggest that dual use of e-cigarettes is not a barrier to smoking cessation and may even be beneficial in encouraging smokers to make quit attempts. Policymakers and healthcare providers should consider these findings when developing regulations and interventions aimed at promoting smoking cessation.

Jackson SE, Shahab L, West R, Brown J. associations between dual use of e-cigarettes and smoking cessation: a prospective study of smokers in England. addictive behaviors. 2020;103:106230. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.106230