E-Cigarette Use to Aid Long-Term Smoking Cessation in the US: Prospective Evidence from the PATH Cohort Study
Menée aux Etats-Unis sur la période 2014-2016 auprès de 2 535 fumeurs adultes, cette étude analyse l'efficacité de la cigarette électronique en tant qu'aide au sevrage tabagique
E-cigarettes are the preferred smoking-cessation aid in the US, however there is little evidence regarding long-term effectiveness among those who use them. We used the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study to compare long-term abstinence between matched US smokers who tried to quit with and without use of e-cigarettes as a cessation aid. We identified a nationally representative cohort of 2,535 adult US smokers in 2014–15 (baseline assessment), who in 2015–2016 (exposure assessment) reported a past-year quit attempt and the cessation aids used, and reported smoking status in 2016–17 (outcome assessment; self-reported 12+ months continuous abstinence). We used propensity-score methods to match each e-cigarette user with similar non-users. We found that, among US smokers who used e-cigarettes to help quit, 12.9% (95% CI: 9.1%,16.7%) successfully attained long-term abstinence. However, there was no difference compared to matched non-e-cigarette-users (cigarette abstinence difference: 2%; 95% CI: −3%, 7%). Furthermore, fewer e-cigarette users were long-term abstinent from nicotine products (nicotine abstinence difference: −4%; 95% CI: −7%, −1%); about two-thirds of e-cigarette users who successfully quit smoking continued to use e-cigarettes. These results suggest that e-cigarettes may not be an effective cessation aid for adult smokers, and instead may contribute to continuing nicotine dependence.