Are electronic nicotine delivery systems an effective smoking cessation tool?

Abstract

Despite the known adverse effects of smoking, including lung cancer and other respiratory diseases, a significant proportion of the Canadian population continue to smoke. The global epidemic of smoking is compounded by the known effects of secondhand smoke, which exposes non-smoking individuals to a similar mix of toxic fumes and potentially adverse effects. Electronic nicotine delivery systems have emerged in the wake of governmental efforts to limit tobacco exposure and have been proposed as a possible solution. However, electronic nicotine delivery systems have not been tightly regulated or comprehensively studied. This systematic review investigated one of the central questions surrounding the increasing popularity of these devices.