Extract
E-cigarettes have been licensed as a quitting tool in order to decrease the devastating effects of tobacco smoking. In the European Respiratory Society task force report published last year, we stated that, at the present time, the evidence for licensed smoking cessation medications was stronger compared to e-cigarettes [1]. 1 year later, a pragmatic randomised controlled trial comparing nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and e-cigarette effectiveness in smoking cessation was published by the New England Journal of Medicine, with results favouring e-cigarettes (18%) compared to NRT (9,9%) [2]. This was the third randomised controlled trial performed, after the ASCEND and ECLAT [3] trials, comparing e-cigarette and NRT efficacy in smoking cessation. The purpose of this correspondence is to analyse these randomised controlled trials as studies comparing two different nicotine delivery systems (e-cigarettes and NRTs) from three perspectives: addiction, smoking cessation and safety.
Abstract
The effectiveness of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation still lacks a valid endorsement. It is timely to treat the chronic disease of nicotine addiction safely and effectively, by incorporating smoking cessation guidelines to our everyday practice. https://bit.ly/3gUjGRM
Footnotes
Conflict of interest: P.A. Katsaounou reports travel grants, honoraria and grants from pharmaceutical companies such as GSK, Astra, Menarini, Pfizer and Chiesi.
- Received January 16, 2020.
- Accepted July 8, 2020.
- Copyright ©ERS 2020