If you’re attempting to quit smoking, you may want to try using only certain types of e cigarettes. A new study has found that “tank” e cigarettes, which can be refilled with nicotine liquids, can be linked to higher rates of quitting than “cigalike” type e cigarettes.
“Our research demonstrates the importance of distinguishing between different types of e-cigarettes and frequency of use when examining the association between e-cigarettes and quitting,” said a statement from study leader Sara Hitchman of the King’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience.
According to the study, which was recently published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, about 28% of people who used tank e cigarettes every day to get their nicotine fix wound up quitting smoking, while only 11% of those who used cigalike e cigarettes, which are either disposable, or use replaceable cartridges. Even those who didn’t use their tank e cigarettes every day quit at higher rates than those who didn’t use their cigalikes.
The reason tank e cigs work better could be because they may deliver nicotine more effectively than their counterparts. In other words, increasing the dose of nicotine given can lead to smoking cessation.
What’s more, the devices also allow users to adjust the level of nicotine, and the flavor, which researchers said may factor into the higher rate of success, researchers said.
“Most smokers want to stop but are struggling, and disadvantaged and deprived groups are struggling most. If you are using an e-cigarette, use it more frequently and stop smoking cigarettes as fast as you can,” said Ann McNeill of King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience. “If cigalikes don’t work, try something else.”
The study did not prove that e cigarettes enable people to quit smoking, but it did provide the much-needed evidence supporting the devices’ possible ability to help those who are trying to quit.
