E-cigarette cessation and transitions in combusted tobacco smoking status: longitudinal findings from the US FDa PaTh Study.

Introduction:
This text provides an analysis of the relationship between e-cigarette (ENDS) cessation and combusted tobacco product (CTP) smoking status using data from the Population assessment of Tobacco and health (PaTh) Study. The study focuses on adults who were current or former CTP smokers at baseline and investigates the association between quitting or continuing ENDS use and CTP abstinence.

Key Points:

* The study uses data from the PaTh Study, a nationally representative survey of US adults, collected in wave 4 (W4) and wave 5 (W5).
* The analysis focuses on 1525 adults who provided data at both waves and reported current or former CTP smoking and ENDS use at W4.
* Logistic regressions were performed separately among W4 current and former CTP smokers to analyze proximal and long-term outcomes.
* The proximal analysis examined the association between ENDS quit status and CTP abstinence at W5, while the long-term analysis examined W4 ENDS quit status as a predictor of CTP abstinence at W5, approximately 1 year later.
* among W4 current CTP smokers, there was no evidence that CTP smoking abstinence differed between those quitting or continuing using ENDS.
* among former CTP smokers, quitting ENDS was associated with less CTP abstinence in the proximal analysis, but there was no evidence of a difference in the long-term analysis.
* The study shows mixed results regarding the association between ENDS cessation and relapse to CTP smoking among former smokers.

Main Message:
The analysis of the PaTh Study data indicates that there is no evidence that ENDS cessation is associated with CTP abstinence among current smokers. however, among former smokers, there is a mixed picture, with a possible risk for relapse to smoking associated with quitting ENDS in the proximal analysis. Further research is needed to provide experimental evidence regarding whether ENDS cessation could lead to prolonged CTP smoking or relapse. It is crucial to develop interventions to prevent CTP relapse among former smokers who intend to quit ENDS. additionally, smoking cessation interventions are needed for dual users, regardless of their plans to quit or continue ENDS.

Klemperer EM, Bunn JY, Palmer aM, et al. E-cigarette cessation and transitions in combusted tobacco smoking status: longitudinal findings from the US FDa PaTh Study. addiction (abingdon, England). 2023;118(6):1161-1166. doi:10.1111/add.16141