Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Nov 15;120(22):3527-35.
doi: 10.1002/cncr.28811. Epub 2014 Sep 22.

Electronic cigarette use among patients with cancer: characteristics of electronic cigarette users and their smoking cessation outcomes

Sarah P Borderud  1 , Yuelin Li, Jack E Burkhalter, Christine E Sheffer, Jamie S Ostroff
Affiliations

Electronic cigarette use among patients with cancer: characteristics of electronic cigarette users and their smoking cessation outcomes

Sarah P Borderud et al. Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: Given that continued smoking after a cancer diagnosis increases the risk of adverse health outcomes, patients with cancer are strongly advised to quit. Despite a current lack of evidence regarding their safety and effectiveness as a cessation tool, electronic cigarettes (E-cigarettes) are becoming increasingly popular. To guide oncologists' communication with their patients about E-cigarette use, this article provides what to the authors' knowledge is the first published clinical data regarding E-cigarette use and cessation outcomes among patients with cancer.

Methods: A total of 1074 participants included smokers (patients with cancer) who recently enrolled in a tobacco treatment program at a comprehensive cancer center. Standard demographic, tobacco use history, and follow-up cessation outcomes were assessed.

Results: A 3-fold increase in E-cigarette use was observed from 2012 to 2013 (10.6% vs 38.5%). E-cigarette users were more nicotine dependent than nonusers, had more prior quit attempts, and were more likely to be diagnosed with thoracic and head or neck cancers. Using a complete case analysis, E-cigarette users were as likely to be smoking at the time of follow-up as nonusers (odds ratio, 1.0; 95% confidence interval, 0.5-1.7). Using an intention-to-treat analysis, E-cigarette users were twice as likely to be smoking at the time of follow-up as nonusers (odds ratio, 2.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-3.3).

Conclusions: The high rate of E-cigarette use observed is consistent with recent articles highlighting increased E-cigarette use in the general population. The current longitudinal findings raise doubts concerning the usefulness of E-cigarettes for facilitating smoking cessation among patients with cancer. Further research is needed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of E-cigarettes as a cessation treatment for patients with cancer.

Keywords: cancer; electronic cigarettes (E-cigarettes); smoking cessation; tobacco.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Patient Flow
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentage of patients who report E-cigarette use (n=1074)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking – 50 years of progress: A report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2014.
    1. Gajdos C, Hawn MT, Campagna EJ, Henderson WG, Singh JA, Houston T. Adverse effects of smoking on postoperative outcomes in cancer patients. Ann Surg Oncol. 2012;19:1430–1438. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Daniel M, Keefe FJ, Lyna P, et al. Persistent smoking after a diagnosis of lung cancer is associated with higher reported pain levels. J Pain. 2009;10:323–328. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Warren GW, Kasza KA, Reid ME, Cummings KM, Marshall JR. Smoking at diagnosis and survival in cancer patients. Int J Cancer. 2013;132:401–410. - PubMed
    1. Toll BA, Brandon TH, Gritz ER, Warren GW, Herbst RS. Assessing tobacco use by cancer patients and facilitating cessation: an American Association for Cancer Research policy statement. Clin Cancer Res. 2013;19:1941–1948. - PMC - PubMed