Electronic Cigarettes for Adults with Tobacco Dependence Enrolled in a Tobacco Treatment Program: A Pilot Study.

At week eight, 17.5% of subjects (7 of 40) were biochemically confirmed abstinent from smoking tobacco, and the mean reduction of cigarettes smoked/day was 7.9. During the observation period between weeks 8 and 24, three individuals relapsed to smoking, and two stopped smoking. At week 24, 15% of subjects (6 of 40) were abstinent from smoking tobacco, and the mean reduction of cigarettes smoked/day was 6.8. There were no significant differences in reduction of reported cigarettes smoked per day or in smoking quit rates between those who received a nicotine and non-nicotine e-cigarette at the beginning of the study (proportion abstinent at 24 weeks: nicotine EC = 4/20 (20%); non-nicotine EC = 2/20 (10%); p = 0.66). At week 24, 57.5% of participants reported that e-cigarettes helped them reduce or eliminate tobacco smoking, and 1/3 of the participants in the study were using non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes. The non-smokers using e-cigarettes were using zero or low strength nicotine solutions with non-tobacco flavors at follow up, which suggests that the behavioral cues of e-cigarettes rather than nicotine delivery may have been more important in smoking cessation.
Among the 6 non-smokers at follow-up, 67% (4 of 6) reported that e-cigarettes were helpful in curtailing tobacco smoking during the study period. However, 2 reported that the e-cigarette was not useful and used the nicotine patch exclusively. The most commonly reported benefits of e-cigarette use were being able to decrease or quit tobacco smoking (50%), saving money (50%), and clothing smelling less of smoke (43.8%). The most commonly reported problems of e-cigarette use were the inability of the e-cigarette to satisfy the craving of smoking (27.5%), the e-cigarette being too harsh (27.5%), and the unpleasant flavor of the e-cigarette (15%).
There were no statistically significant differences in respiratory measures between baseline and at week 24 between the nicotine and non-nicotine groups (mean changes in: percent predicted FEV1: 0.0085 vs. -0.037, p = 0.14; percent predicted FVC: 0.0108 vs. -0.0216, p = 0.33; FeNO: 2.75 vs. 3.11, p = 0.91; all respectively).

Baldassarri, S. R., Bernstein, S. L., Chupp, G. L., Slade, M. D., Fucito, L. M., & Toll, B. A. (2018). Electronic Cigarettes for Adults with Tobacco Dependence Enrolled in a Tobacco Treatment Program: A Pilot Study. Addictive Behaviors, 80, 1-5.