Is Vaping Better Than Nicotine Replacement Therapy?

With the vaping industry becoming increasingly popular, there have been many questions surrounding the effectiveness e-cigarettes as a method to quit smoking. Gov.co.uk released an article detailing how vaping might actually be better than nicotine replacement therapy. Based on reports by Public Health England, the article details the evidence that vaping might be something to consider for those who have tried to quit smoking before and failed. So, is vaping better than Nicotine Replacement Therapy?

What Do The Statistics Say?

Public Health England has collected some convincing statistics that suggest vaping might be the most popular and most effective smoking cessation tool.

According to the gov.co.uk article, in England in 2020, At this time 2.7 million adults in the UK used e-cigarettes and 27.2% of smokers attempting to quit used a vape product. There has been a huge correlation between the growing numbers of people using e-cigarettes, and the decline in smoking over the last few years. Smoking prevalence has decreased from 19% in 2011 to 13% in 2021. It is possible that the increasing popularity of vape products has contributed to this. According to John Newton, the Director of Health Improvement at PHE stated that vaping products helped 50,000 smokers to quit in 2021. He went on to say that, “for anyone who smokes, particularly those who have already tried other methods, we strongly recommend they try vaping and stop smoking.”

To support this, the government released their annual  report on the prevalence of smoking and vaping in the UK. They found that in Stop Smoking services, success rates for smokers who quit using vaping products (64.9%) were higher than the success rates for those who used nicotine replacement therapy (58.6%).

Does This Mean Vaping is Better Than Nicotine Replacement Therapy?

These statistics heavily indicate that vaping might be better than nicotine replacement therapy as a method to quit smoking.

In 2019 a report was released, studying the impact of vaping products versus nicotine replacement therapy.  The results were that 18.0% of the people given vaping products to quit smoking remained abstinent for one year. In contrast, for those who tried nicotine replacement therapy only 9.9% remained abstinent for one year. There are multiple reasons why this might be, but the most likely is that e-cigarettes provide an experience similar to smoking. Vapers still get to hold a cigarette and experience the throat hit that comes with inhaling the vapour. This experience cannot be replicated by nicotine replacement therapy.

Vaping products may have the ability to help smokers quit for longer periods because they don’t just allow smokers to control their nicotine cravings. They are also able to recreate the other aspects of smoking that can become almost as addictive. The only real difference is that e-cigarettes do not contain the number of carcinogens that are found in tobacco cigarettes.

Vaping also grants people choices. With a variety of nicotine strengths and e-liquid flavours, people who use vaping products to quit have more control than those who use nicotine replacement products.

What Do Experts Suggest?

Recently, experts have come forward to clear up the confusion surrounding vaping products. Many have recommended the use of e-cigarettes for those who have struggled to give up smoking. For example,  Professor John Newton, Director of Health Improvement at PHE, has said that for anyone who smokes “particularly those who have already tried other methods, we strongly recommend they try vaping and stop smoking.”

Similarly, Martin Dockrell. Tobacco Control Programme Lead at PHE, spoke to the British Heart Foundation. He said about electronic cigarettes that for anyone who has tried to quit smoking in the past and failed, “Try again with an electronic cigarette because you might find that it is a lot easier.”

We do not recommend smoking or vaping for anyone with heart conditions or lung conditions. However, for those without underlying health conditions, vaping could be an effective smoking cessation method. Especially for those who have tried nicotine replacement therapy unsuccessfully in the past.

What Can We Conclude?

We can see from government reports, supporting research, and expert opinions that vaping may be more successful than nicotine replacement therapy for those attempting to quit smoking cigarettes. While it is not guaranteed that vaping will help smokers quit for good, we can infer that it has potential as an effective technique for quitting. Experts have recommended it for smokers. For example, the UK executive for Cancer Research has pointed out that “the long term effects of e-cigarettes are unknown, but the long term harms of tobacco are indisputable.”

However, everybody has a different journey and, while vaping might work for some, nicotine replacement therapy might work better for another. What we can suggest is to do as much of your own research as you can to choose the best method for you. If you do decide to use vaping as a method of quitting cigarettes, make sure you go to a reputable company for any advice you might need. There are many Stop Smoking Services to help, so we would recommend getting in touch.