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
. 2017 Feb;52(2):e33-e66.
doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2016.10.036. Epub 2016 Nov 30.

Overview of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems: A Systematic Review

Affiliations

Overview of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems: A Systematic Review

Allison M Glasser et al. Am J Prev Med. 2017 Feb.

Erratum in

  • Incomplete Conflict of Interest Disclosures.
    Abrams DB, Niaura RS. Abrams DB, et al. Am J Prev Med. 2024 Dec;67(6):988. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2024.07.026. Epub 2024 Aug 13. Am J Prev Med. 2024. PMID: 39140934 No abstract available.

Abstract

Context: Rapid developments in e-cigarettes, or electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), and the evolution of the overall tobacco product marketplace warrant frequent evaluation of the published literature. The purpose of this article is to report updated findings from a comprehensive review of the published scientific literature on ENDS.

Evidence acquisition: The authors conducted a systematic review of published empirical research literature on ENDS through May 31, 2016, using a detailed search strategy in the PubMed electronic database, expert review, and additional targeted searches. Included studies presented empirical findings and were coded to at least one of nine topics: (1) Product Features; (2) Health Effects; (3) Consumer Perceptions; (4) Patterns of Use; (5) Potential to Induce Dependence; (6) Smoking Cessation; (7) Marketing and Communication; (8) Sales; and (9) Policies; reviews and commentaries were excluded. Data from included studies were extracted by multiple coders (October 2015 to August 2016) into a standardized form and synthesized qualitatively by topic.

Evidence synthesis: There were 687 articles included in this systematic review. The majority of studies assessed patterns of ENDS use and consumer perceptions of ENDS, followed by studies examining health effects of vaping and product features.

Conclusions: Studies indicate that ENDS are increasing in use, particularly among current smokers, pose substantially less harm to smokers than cigarettes, are being used to reduce/quit smoking, and are widely available. More longitudinal studies and controlled trials are needed to evaluate the impact of ENDS on population-level tobacco use and determine the health effects of longer-term vaping.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of studies included in the ENDS systematic review. aTotal number of articles combined across categories exceeds the total number of unique articles because many fit into multiple categories. ENDS, electronic nicotine delivery system
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of included articles by year. a2016 accounts for publications through June 1, 2016.

References

    1. Cobb NK, Abrams DB. The FDA, e-cigarettes, and the demise of combusted tobacco. N Engl J Med. 2014;371(16):1469–1471. http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp1408448. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fiore MC, Schroeder SA, Baker TB. Smoke, the chief killer--strategies for targeting combustible tobacco use. N Engl J Med. 2014;370(4):297–299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp1314942. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fagerstrom K, Eissenberg T. Dependence on tobacco and nicotine products: a case for product-specific assessment. Nicotine Tob Res. 2012;14(11):1382–1390. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ntr/nts007. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Abrams DB. Promise and peril of e-cigarettes: can disruptive technology make cigarettes obsolete? JAMA. 2014;311(2):135–136. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.285347. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Trtchounian A, Williams M, Talbot P. Conventional and electronic cigarettes (ecigarettes) have different smoking characteristics. Nicotine Tob Res. 2010;12(9):905–912. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntq114. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms