Tag: Cochrane

  • Study: Vape Products Among ‘Top 3’ Quitting Aides

    Study: Vape Products Among ‘Top 3’ Quitting Aides

    Photo: Vadzim

    E-cigarettes are among the Top-3 most effective tools to stop smoking, according to a new review of evidence by a team of scientists. The other strategies are Varenicline, a prescription drug sold under brand names such as Chantix and Champix, and Cytisine, a plant-based compound sold as an over-the-counter natural health product in Canada and throughout central Europe and eastern Europe, and available under prescription in the United Kingdom.

    These tools for quitting work best when combined with behavioral support, such as counseling, according to the authors. Bupropion and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) are also effective, especially NRT patches combined with fast-acting forms like gum.

    “For behavioral support, evidence is strongest for counseling and for programs that reward people for stopping smoking,” said senior author Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, assistant professor of health policy and management in the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences, in a statement.

    Published Sept. 4 in the journal Addiction, the review was conducted by the non-profit Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group (CTAG)

    CTAG’s summary outlines the key findings from 14 Cochrane reviews that CTAG published between 2021 and 2023.

    The latest Cochrane review of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation concluded that there was high‐certainty evidence that e-cigarettes with nicotine increase quit rates compared with NRT, and moderate‐certainty evidence that they increase quit rates compared with e-cigarettes without nicotine.

    The 2023 Cochrane review of pharmacological and e-cigarette interventions for smoking cessation included all drugs licensed as treatments for smoking cessation anywhere in the world, as well as e-cigarettes with or without nicotine. The review included 319 studies (157,179 participants). The most effective interventions were nicotine e‐cigarettes, varenicline and cytisine, all of which had high-certainty evidence, closely followed by combination NRT. 

  • New Zealand Group Wants Vape ‘Starter Packs’ Like UK

    New Zealand Group Wants Vape ‘Starter Packs’ Like UK

    In the UK, the National Health Services (NHS) is trialing a program that will provide some smokers who are admitted to emergency departments free vaping starter kits and instruction on how to use them. This is in combination with ongoing quit-smoking support. Now, a group of vapor advocates in New Zealand wants its country’s Budget 2021 to supercharge already established smoking cessation programs by adopting the UK plan.

    “Our Government is now determined to get Smokefree 2025 back on track. Budget Day on 20 May is the first opportunity to put its money where its mouth is. Our District Health Boards and Maori health organizations have had huge success with switching smokers into vapers. It’s time for the Government to back them more,” says Nancy Loucas, co-director of Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA), in a recent statement.

    Credit: Gustavo Frazeo

    Public Health England has repeatedly endorsed vaping and has never wavered from its scientific conclusion that it’s 95 percent less harmful than smoking. Recently, a new Cochrane review reinforces the effective role vaping plays in reducing smoking rates across the globe. Based in the UK, Cochrane is an independent network, involving 130 countries, health professionals, and researchers. With the strategic goal of putting Cochrane evidence at the heart of health decision-making all over the world, it represents the gold standard for high quality, trusted health information, according to a statement.

    Titled “Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation (Review),” the Cochrane Library researchers reviewed 56 international studies, involving 12,804 adults who smoked. The study concluded that e-cigarettes could increase the number of people who stop smoking compared to other forms of nicotine replacement therapy, such as chewing gum and patches.

    It comes as a Georgetown University-led study published in the journal Population Health Metrics concludes that nicotine vaping in the US could help prevent 1.8 million premature deaths and see 38.9 million life-years gained in a span of 47 years. “Health officials in the UK believe tens of thousands of Brits stop smoking every year after switching to vaping. In fact, latest PHE estimates show that around 2.7 million adults now vape in England alone, compared to nearly seven million who smoke tobacco,” says Loucas. “What has happened over in the UK over the past decade is an impressive story. It’s one our Government needs to investigate if it is serious about rebooting New Zealand’s 2011 ambition of being smoke-free by 2025.”

    The AVCA is encouraging Kiwis to review and submit on the government’s discussion document before 5.00pm on Monday, 31 May 2021.