A study analyzing cross-sectional data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study from 2013-2016, found that e-cigarettes use was consistently associated with lower nicotine dependence than cigarette smoking.
The study titled, “Dependence on E-Cigarettes and Cigarettes in a Cross-Sectional Study of US Adults”, compared e-cig and cigarette dependence among current and former adult e-cigarette users. The answers of a population-based representative sample of 13,311 18+ US adults, who had been administered dependence assessments for cigarettes and/or e-cigarettes were analysed.
The researchers found that current vapers were still less dependent on e-cigarettes than on cigarettes. “Findings among current users, dependence on e-cigarettes was significantly lower than dependence on cigarettes, in within-subjects comparisons among dual users of both e-cigarettes and cigarettes (1.58 [SE = 0.05] vs. 2.76 [0.04]), P < 0.0001), and in separate groups of e-cigarette users and cigarette smokers (1.95 [0.05] vs. 2.52 [0.02], P < 0.0001), and among both daily and non-daily users of each product.”
Similarly, in former vapers, cravings for e-cigarettes were lower than for cigarettes. “Among former users, residual symptoms were significantly lower for e-cigarettes than cigarettes, both among former dual users (1.23 [0.07] vs. 1.41 [0.06], P < 0.001) and among users of one product (1.28 [0.03] vs. 1.53 [0.03], P < 0.0001). The highest level of e-cigarette dependence was among e-cigarette users who had stopped smoking (2.17 [0.08]).” To this effect, concluded the researchers, vaping is associated with with lower nicotine dependence than cigarette smoking.
Diane Caruana – Vaping Post – June 23, 2020.
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