PLoS ONE (Jan 2020)

Role of e-cigarettes and pharmacotherapy during attempts to quit cigarette smoking: The PATH Study 2013-16.

  • John P Pierce,
  • Tarik Benmarhnia,
  • Ruifeng Chen,
  • Martha White,
  • David B Abrams,
  • Bridget K Ambrose,
  • Carlos Blanco,
  • Nicolette Borek,
  • Kelvin Choi,
  • Blair Coleman,
  • Wilson M Compton,
  • K Michael Cummings,
  • Cristine D Delnevo,
  • Tara Elton-Marshall,
  • Maciej L Goniewicz,
  • Shannon Gravely,
  • Geoffrey T Fong,
  • Dorothy Hatsukami,
  • James Henrie,
  • Karin A Kasza,
  • Sheila Kealey,
  • Heather L Kimmel,
  • Jean Limpert,
  • Raymond S Niaura,
  • Carolina Ramôa,
  • Eva Sharma,
  • Marushka L Silveira,
  • Cassandra A Stanton,
  • Michael B Steinberg,
  • Ethel Taylor,
  • Maansi Bansal-Travers,
  • Dennis R Trinidad,
  • Lisa D Gardner,
  • Andrew Hyland,
  • Samir Soneji,
  • Karen Messer

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237938
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 9
p. e0237938

Abstract

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BackgroundMore smokers report using e-cigarettes to help them quit than FDA-approved pharmacotherapy.ObjectiveTo assess the association of e-cigarettes with future abstinence from cigarette and tobacco use.DesignCohort study of US sample, with annual follow-up.ParticipantsUS adult (ages 18+) daily cigarette smokers identified at Wave 1 (W1; 2013-14) of the PATH Study, who reported a quit attempt before W2 and completed W3 (n = 2443).ExposuresUse of e-cigarettes, pharmacotherapy (including nicotine replacement therapy), or no product for last quit attempt (LQA), and current daily e-cigarette use at W2.AnalysisPropensity score matching (PSM) of groups using different methods to quit.Outcome measures12+ months abstinence at W3 from cigarettes and from all tobacco (including e-cigarettes). 30+ days abstinence at W3 was a secondary outcome.ResultsAmong daily smokers with an LQA, 23.5% used e-cigarettes, 19.3% used pharmacotherapy only (including NRT) and 57.2% used no product. Cigarette abstinence for 12+ months at W3 was ~10% in each group. Half of the cigarette abstainers in the e-cigarette group were using e-cigarettes at W3. Different methods to help quitting had statistically comparable 12+ month cigarette abstinence at W3 (e-cigarettes vs no product: Risk Difference (RD) = 0.01, 95% CI: -0.04 to 0.06; e-cigarettes vs pharmacotherapy: RD = 0.02, 95% CI:-0.04 to 0.09). Likewise, daily e-cigarette users at W2 did not show a cessation benefit over comparable no-e-cigarette users and this finding was robust to sensitivity analyses. Abstinence for 30+ days at W3 was also similar across products.LimitationsThe frequency of e-cigarette use during the LQA was not assessed, nor was it possible to assess continuous abstinence from the LQA.ConclusionAmong US daily smokers who quit cigarettes in 2014-15, use of e-cigarettes in that attempt compared to approved cessation aids or no products showed similar abstinence rates 1-2 years later.