No Safe Smoke

Public-health experts are debating whether e-cigarettes, which deliver nicotine in a smoke-free vapor, can help eradicate tobacco smoking. Research around this topic is sparse, but one new, relatively small study raises questions about whether e-cigarettes can wean tobacco smokers off their deadly habit. The study in JAMA Internal Medicine looked at 949 tobacco smokers–88 of whom also used e-cigarettes–and found that smoking e-cigs did not help them quit or reduce their use of cigarettes over the course of a year.

E-cigarettes, which do not contain tobacco and give off no tar or carbon monoxide, are believed to be safer than regular tobacco cigarettes, and some argue that pushing people toward less dangerous nicotine-intake systems is better for them. But cutting down or quitting smoking altogether is the ultimate goal, and the new study suggests that’s not happening.

Another recent study found that adolescents who use e-cigs are more likely to smoke cigarettes as well. The study couldn’t confirm whether the e-cigs were a gateway drug or if the kids would have found their way to tobacco anyway, but the e-cigs were clearly not a deterrent.

The problem is that e-cigarettes have not been around long enough for there to be sufficient evidence about their risks and benefits. It may be years before we know if the products will help smokers kick the habit or whether people are just hurting themselves in a new way.

–A.S.