Nicotine vapes more effective than patches for quitting smoking, review finds
February 11, 2025
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A comprehensive review of scientific evidence has found that electronic cigarettes containing nicotine are more effective than traditional nicotine replacement therapies (NRT), like patches and gum, for helping smokers quit.
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, a highly respected source of medical evidence, published the updated findings of their “living systematic review” on e-cigarettes and smoking cessation on 29 January.
The research confirms the findings from previous reviews in January 2024 and November 2022.
The latest review analysed data from 90 studies, including 49 randomised controlled trials involving over 29,000 participants. Researchers compared the effectiveness of nicotine e-cigarettes against various other methods, including NRT, non-nicotine e-cigarettes, behavioral support, and no support.
The results showed a significant advantage for nicotine e-cigarettes. The review found ‘high-certainty evidence’ that smokers using nicotine e-cigarettes were more likely to quit than those using NRT. Specifically, for every 100 people using nicotine e-cigarettes, an estimated four more would successfully quit compared to those using NRT.
Compared to e-cigarettes without nicotine, the review also found moderate-certainty evidence that nicotine e-cigarettes increased quit rates. This translates to approximately three additional quitters per 100 people.
While the review suggests a benefit of nicotine e-cigarettes compared to behavioral support or no support, the evidence was less certain due to potential biases in the study designs.
Regarding safety, the review found no evidence of serious harm associated with nicotine e-cigarette use in the short to medium term. Common side effects included throat and mouth irritation, headache, cough, and nausea, but these tended to decrease over time. However, the researchers stressed that more long-term, large-scale studies are needed to fully assess the long-term safety of e-cigarettes.
They also cautioned that the review focused on regulated nicotine-containing e-cigarettes, and that illicit products or those containing other substances like THC might have different safety profiles.
