Study: Vapes More Effective Than NRTs for Disadvantaged Smokers

• A clinical trial compared vaping with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)
• Quit rates were 28.4% for vapes vs 9.6% for NRT after six months
• Participants were socially disadvantaged Australians
• Vaping was more effective partly due to its similarities to smoking
• Over half of successful quitters (58%) continued vaping at the end of the study

With just under 9% of adults being daily smokers, Australia has one of the lowest smoking rates in the world. However, the smoking rate amongst socially disadvantaged people is three times higher than that of their more advantaged peers.

The new findings come from a clinical trial conducted by the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), published in Annals of Internal Medicine in July.

In the trial, the team recruited over 1000 adults who smoked daily, were willing to try to quit, and were receiving a government pension or allowance (which acted as an indicator for being considered socially disadvantaged for this study).

Participants were randomly given an eight-week supply of either:

• Two vaping devices with three flavoured e-liquids (tobacco, mint or fruit), or
• More traditional nicotine replacement therapies in the form of lozenges or gum

After six months, the verified quit rates were 28.4% in the vaping group compared with just 9.6% in the NRT group.

Associate Professor Ryan Courtney, one of the study leaders, said that:

“Even after accounting for individual differences within a socially disadvantaged sample, our analysis found quit rates were superior for the vaping group compared to NRT, irrespective of age, gender, nicotine dependence and recent diagnosis or treatment for mental health disorder.”

One of the factors in the success of the vapes compared with NRTs is that the act of vaping feels more similar to the act of smoking:

“Vapes, in addition to delivering nicotine, provide some of the sensory and behavioural aspects that people miss when they quit smoking,” said Associate Professor Courtney.

58% of those who had successfully quit vaping continued to vape their allocated study-supplied product at the end of follow-up.

“Vapes are not a magic cure, but they are a promising treatment option that leads to higher quit rates than nicotine gum or lozenges for those experiencing social disadvantage,” said Associate Professor Courtney.