Nicotine vapes best chance to quit smoking, according to leading research group.
Smokers who want to quit have the best chance of doing so if they use nicotine e-cigarettes, a Cochrane research team found.
80 major trials involving 30,000 people found that nicotine vapes were more effective than traditional aids such as patches, gum and support plans – increasing the success rate by about 60%, from around six in every 100 managing to quit smoking to one in every 10.
They outperformed non-nicotine vapes too, although researchers say switching to these afterwards might help with weaning off nicotine.
Mr. Ken Heffernan, Respect Vapers said that the findings in this report clearly shows that the Government must halt the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) (Amendment) Bill 2026, which proposes to ban all vape flavours other than tobacco flavours.
“Over 30% of the vape market is illicit; the Government urgently need to listen to the international experts who have successfully reduced the rate of smoking in their countries. We need enforceable regulation to prevent youth access – not prohibition,” he said.
Flavoured vapes play a significant role in helping adults in Ireland to quit cigarettes and tobacco. To date over 200,000 former smokers are tobacco free and use flavoured vapes to remain so.
The review by Cochrane of the most recent and best quality evidence to date applies to regulated vapes that are checked for quality and compliant with strict safety laws. It doesn’t look at unregulated ones that can contain illicit substances, like spice or THC.
One of the report authors, Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, cautioned: “Unlicensed e-cigarettes are potentially dangerous, with issues including unstable batteries and harmful chemicals.
“Anyone looking to use e-cigarettes to quit smoking should only purchase devices that have been tested and approved by their country’s regulatory body.”
The review found no evidence of any increased risk of serious harm from using e-cigarettes to quit.
According to the World Health Organization, smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death, killing over seven million people a year.
Quitting smoking reduces your risk of serious illnesses like heart disease, lung cancer, and stroke.
Almost every local NHS stop smoking service provides vapes or other support to help people quit.
Cochrane: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1e5p51n2p2o
