Are E-cigarettes more effective in supporting smoking cessation than nicotine-replacement therapy?

Abstract

Commentary on: Hajek P, Phillips-Waller A, Przulj D, et al . A randomized trial of E-cigarettes versus nicotine-replacement therapy. N Engl J Med 2019;380:629-37. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1808779. A total of 34.3 million people are smokers in the USA.1 Smoking leads to disease, disability and harms to nearly every organ of the body.1 Treating smoking addictions has received a great deal of attention in recent years, but there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of smoking cessation treatments using e-cigarettes versus nicotine-replacement therapy.2 Eight hundred and eighty-six participants underwent randomisation by assigning two groups from the UK National Health Service in three sites. Participants were …