Why people want to quit e-cigarettes

Washington: Recent findings suggest that most people who smoke e-cigarettes want to quit the habit and many have tried to reduce their use with time. About 10 million US adults smoke e-cigarettes. Most of these users also smoke traditional cigarettes, though many use them while attempting to quit traditional cigarettes.

The study found that more than 60 per cent of e-cigarette users want to quit using e-cigarettes and 16 per cent plan to quit in the next month. More than 25 per cent have tried to quit using e-cigarettes in the past year. Findings of the study were published in the Journal of Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

"Most of the discussion about e-cigarettes has focused on the relative harm as compared to traditional cigarettes, the efficacy of e-cigarettes as a cessation device, and the alarming increase of their use in children. In addition to those issues, our data suggest that e-cigarette users do not want to use these devices forever. Eventually, they want to stop using e-cigarettes the same way a traditional smoker wants to quit smoking cigarettes," said Marc Steinberg, lead author of the study.

According to the team of researchers, while e-cigarettes may be associated with reduced harm as compared to combustible cigarettes, they also are potentially addictive and the e-cigarette aerosol still contains toxic substances. As e-cigarette use continues to increase and as more e-cigarette users want to quit, it will be important to be ready to help those who may have difficulty stopping on their own.