Electronic cigarettes assist smoking cessation

Combined results from 2 studies involving 662 people showed using an electronic cigarette containing nicotine increased the chances of stopping smoking in the long term compared with using an electronic cigarette without nicotine. The effect size was small (5%). It was not possible to determine if an electronic cigarette was better than a nicotine patch in helping people to stop smoking, because the number of participants in the study comparing electronic cigarettes with nicotine patches was low. None of the total 24 studies included in the review found smokers who used electronic cigarettes short-term to mid-term (≤2 years) had an increased health risk compared with smokers who did not use electronic cigarettes.