The most effective way to quit vaping depends on your age, according to a new study from Oxford University researchers.
The review assessed the benefits and harms of interventions to help people stop vaping compared to each other, and compared to no intervention.
For those aged 13 to 24, the team said support via motivational text messages were the most effective method.
For older groups, a prescription medication called varenicline was an effective option. The drug works by binding to certain receptors in your brain and releasing small amounts of dopamine. This helps to ease nicotine withdrawal by mimicking its effects.
Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce is senior author of the study and assistant professor of health policy and management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
‘This is an area of research that is in its infancy, but is growing rapidly and organically from people who vape asking about help to quit vaping,’ he said.
Published in Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the team cautions that the findings are not definitive, adding that more research is needed.
Dr Alisa Butler, co-lead author from the University of Oxford, also indicated more evidence was needed elsewhere. She said: ‘We urgently need more research to explore these and other approaches.’
You can read the full review here.
Long-term vaping impact ‘unknown’
People who use both vapes and cigarettes are less likely to quit compared to people who only smoke or only vape, says new research.
The study – published in ERJ Open Research – suggests that over time, most ‘dual users’ tend to revert to only smoking cigarettes.
The proportion of dual users who quit completely was 3% over a period of four to eight months, 5% by eight to 16 months, 13% by 16 to 24 months and 24% by 24 to 48 months.
This compares to 6%, 7%, 17% and 25% respectively over the same time periods in people who only smoke and 8%, 19%, 26% and 35% respectively in people who only vape.
Josef Hamoud, from the University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany, is the author of the study. He said: ‘Vaping has become widespread among adolescents and adults worldwide.
‘Given the extensive marketing of vapes as healthier alternatives to conventional smoking, they have gained popularity among people trying to quit smoking. Some people are using them in addition to their conventional cigarettes, classifying them as dual users.
‘There is still a lot we don’t know about the long-term health effects of vaping.’
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