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
. 2019 Jul 3:10:100202.
doi: 10.1016/j.abrep.2019.100202. eCollection 2019 Dec.

Effects of e-cigarettes versus nicotine replacement therapy on short-term smoking abstinence when delivered at a community pharmacy

Sharon Cox  1 , Lynne Dawkins  1 , Jay Doshi  2 , James Cameron  2
Affiliations

Effects of e-cigarettes versus nicotine replacement therapy on short-term smoking abstinence when delivered at a community pharmacy

Sharon Cox et al. Addict Behav Rep. .

Abstract

E-cigarettes (EC) are now the most popular quit aid in England but their effectiveness for cessation if offered at a pharmacy has not been tested. Here we test the effectiveness of offering an e-cigarette with and without nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) on 4-6-week quit rates in adult smokers seeking support from a community pharmacy. A between subject, six-week, prospective, cohort design. 115 smokers (female = 74; M age = 46.37, SD = 13.56) chose either an EC, EC + NRT or NRT alone, alongside standard behavioural support. Smokers opting for an EC alone or an EC + NRT were more likely to report complete abstinence from smoking at 4-6 weeks (62.2% and 61.5% respectively) compared to NRT alone (34.8%). An EC intervention was significantly more effective for smoking cessation than NRT in this community pharmacy. The results for e-cigarettes appear positive but with the caveat that participants chose their own products which may have introduced bias.

Keywords: E-cigarettes; Nicotine replacement therapy; Pharmacy; Smoking cessation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

SC has provided expert consultancy to the Pacific Life Insurance Group (2018) on UK smoking prevalence rates. LD has provided consultancy for the pharmaceutical industry (2015, 2017) and acted as an expert witness for an e-cigarette patent infringement case (2015). JD is a Superintendent pharmacist for Grovehill and Woodhall pharmacies in Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire. JC operates stop smoking clinics for Grovehill and Woodhall pharmacies and has provided advice on medical license application for E-cigarettes to Evapo and Thornton and Ross.

References

    1. ASH Action on Smoking and Health & Cancer Research UK . 2019. A changing landscape: Stop smoking services and tobacco control in England.
    1. Bauld L., Boyd K.A., Briggs A.H., Chesterman J., Ferguson J., Judge K., Hiscock R. One-year outcomes and a cost-effectiveness analysis for smokers accessing group-based and pharmacy-led cessation services. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2010;13(2):135–145. Dec 31. - PubMed
    1. Fagerström K. Determinants of tobacco use and renaming the FTND to the Fagerström Test for Cigarette Dependence. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2011;14(1):75–78. Oct 24. - PubMed
    1. Hajek P., Phillips-Waller A., Przulj D., Pesola F., Myers Smith K., Bisal N.…Ross L. A randomized trial of e-cigarettes versus nicotine-replacement therapy. New England Journal of Medicine. 2019 Feb 14;380(7):629–637. - PubMed
    1. Lindson N., Chepkin S.C., Ye W., Fanshawe T.R., Bullen C., Hartmann-Boyce J. Different doses, durations and modes of delivery of nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2019;4 - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources