New Hajek Cessation RCT
A team featuring Peter Hajek has published a paper documenting a new randomised controlled trial looking at the use of electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation
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by Dave Cross
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The team:
- Katie Myers Smith, Queen Mary University of London
- Anna Phillips-Waller, Queen Mary University of London
- Francesca Pesola, Queen Mary University of London
- Hayden McRobbie, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales
- Dunja Przulj, Queen Mary University of London
- Marzena Orzol, Queen Mary University of London
- Peter Hajek, Queen Mary University of London
The researchers write: “Among smokers seeking help, most do not achieve smoking cessation even with intensive treatments. Some 80% of smokers treated in clinical trials where various selection criteria apply, and over 80% of those receiving intensive treatment in routine care, smoke one year later.
“A question arises as to whether smokers unable to quit with the current best treatments could benefit from approaches that offer a means to reduce the harm from smoking without ceasing nicotine use, with an option to stop nicotine use as well later on.”
They noted that NRT has a number of associated problems: Firstly, it is costly; the quit rates that NRT generates are low; quitting smoking with NRT tends only to be achieved with regular behavioural support and monitoring. Moreover, “it is seldom used”.
As many on the Planet of the Vapes forum can attest too, NRT is rarely successful when used without expert cessation support. With the boom in vaping, the authors wondered if e-cigs could help with smokers who are unable to quit with licensed stop smoking medications.
They reference a previous study, often referred to as The Hajek Study, “that has shown [electronic cigarettes] to be more effective than NRT when accompanied by intensive face-to-face counselling.”
The team concluded: “In smokers with a history of unsuccessful quitting, [electronic cigarettes] were more effective than NRT both in terms of CO-validated reduction in smoking of at least 50% and in terms of smoking cessation.”
Then, with a statement to bring joy to the heart of every tobacco harm reduction advocate, they write: “The trial results suggest that when treating smokers who failed with stop-smoking medications previously, recommending a refillable EC with an e-liquid of strength and flavours of patient’s choice is a more effective approach than prescribing combination NRT.
Leading tobacco harm reduction expert Clive Bates, Director of Counterfactual, commented: “Very interesting study showing considerable success for vaping relative to NRT in smokers cutting down. A good question is what would happen beyond 6 months - do some of those vaping and smoking gradually migrate to exclusive (or mainly) vaping? I hope further follow-up is planned.”
References:
- Targeted smoking cessation for dual users of combustible and electronic cigarettes: a randomised controlled trial - https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30307-8/fulltext
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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