London, Sep 8: Smokers who switch to electronic cigarettes to try to kick their habit are at least as likely to succeed in quitting or cutting down as users of nicotine patches, according to research published on Sunday.
In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers compared electronic, or e-cigarettes, with the more standard nicotine replacement therapy patches.
They found levels of success were comparable, with e-cigarettes - whose effects are a subject of intense debate among health experts - more likely to help smokers who fail to quit cut the amount of tobacco they use.
Some experts fear e-cigarettes may be a "gateway" to nicotine addiction and tobacco smoking, while others view them as the most useful method yet of cutting back and helping would-be quitters.
While the argument rumbles on, smoking continues to kill half of all those who indulge in it.
Tobacco is responsible for 6 million deaths a year and the World Health Organisation estimate that number could rise beyond 8 million by 2030.
As well as causing lung cancer and other chronic respiratory conditions, smoking is also a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases, the world's number-one killer.
'USEFUL WEAPON'
The study, published in The Lancet medical journal and presented at a conference in Spain, was the first to assess whether e-cigarettes are more or less effective than nicotine patches - already recognised as useful in helping people quit.
"While our results don't show any clear-cut differences... in terms of quit success after six months, it certainly seems that e-cigarettes were more effective in helping smokers who didn't quit to cut down," said Chris Bullen of New Zealand's University of Auckland, who led the study.
"It's also interesting that the people who took part in our study seemed to be much more enthusiastic about e-cigarettes than patches, as evidenced by the far greater proportion of people... who said they'd recommend them to family or friends."
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