E-cigarettes an evidence update A report commissioned by Public Health England

E-cigarettes: an evidence updateand medication (NRT on prescription or Champix), the problem is that few smokersaccess these services, limiting their impact on population health.This section reviews the evidence regarding the use of EC for stopping smoking thathas been published since the Cochrane Review [39] on the use of EC for smokingcessation and reduction (cutting down). The Cochrane Review is briefly summarisedbelow.Figure 14: Support used in quit attemptsFrom: smokinginengland.info/latest-statisticsRandomised controlled trialsTo date, two randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have tested the efficacy of EC forstopping smoking, one among smokers wanting to stop and the other among smokersnot intending to quit within the next month [40, 41]. Both were among highly dependentsmokers. A recent Cochrane Review of these RCTs [39] concluded that theydemonstrated that EC with nicotine help smokers reduce their cigarette consumptionand stop smoking compared with no nicotine EC (placebo). However, the authorscautioned that there was uncertainty in the findings, and gave their findings a ‘low’confidence rating using GRADE standards. The Cochrane Review also consideredobservational studies of EC use and cessation. They concluded that theseobservational studies were generally consistent with the findings of RCTs. Since theCochrane Review, one RCT[41], and a secondary analysis of one of the RCTs in theCochrane Review[42] have been published and are discussed below.46