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. 2020 Apr 21;22(5):728-733.
doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntz114.

Electronic Cigarette Use and Cigarette Abstinence Over 2 Years Among U.S. Smokers in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study

Sara Kalkhoran  1   2 , Yuchiao Chang  1   2 , Nancy A Rigotti  1   2
Affiliations

Electronic Cigarette Use and Cigarette Abstinence Over 2 Years Among U.S. Smokers in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study

Sara Kalkhoran et al. Nicotine Tob Res. .

Abstract

Introduction: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) could benefit public health if they help current smokers to stop smoking long term, but evidence that they do so is limited. We aimed to determine the association between e-cigarette use and subsequent smoking cessation in a nationally representative cohort of US smokers followed for 2 years.

Methods: We analyzed data from adult cigarette smokers in Waves 1 through 3 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study. The primary exposure was e-cigarette use at Wave 1. The primary outcome was prolonged cigarette abstinence, defined as past 30-day cigarette abstinence at Waves 2 and 3 (1- and 2-year follow-up).

Results: Among Wave 1 cigarette smokers, 3.6% were current daily e-cigarette users, 18% were current non-daily e-cigarette users, and 78% reported no current e-cigarette use. In multivariable-adjusted analyses, daily e-cigarette use at Wave 1 was associated with higher odds of prolonged cigarette smoking abstinence at Waves 2 and 3 compared to nonuse of e-cigarettes (11% vs. 6%, adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08 to 2.89). Non-daily e-cigarette use was not associated with prolonged cigarette smoking abstinence. Among Wave 1 daily e-cigarette users who were abstinent from cigarette smoking at Wave 3, 63% were using e-cigarettes at Wave 3.

Conclusions: In this longitudinal cohort study of US adult cigarette smokers, daily but not non-daily e-cigarette use was associated with higher odds of prolonged cigarette smoking abstinence over 2 years, compared to no e-cigarette use. Daily use of e-cigarettes may help some smokers to stop smoking combustible cigarettes.

Implications: In this nationally representative longitudinal cohort study of US adult cigarette smokers, daily e-cigarette use, compared to no e-cigarette use, was associated with a 77% increased odds of prolonged cigarette smoking abstinence over the subsequent 2 years. Regular use of e-cigarettes may help some smokers to stop smoking combustible cigarettes.

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