Efficacy and Safety of E-cigarettes for Smoking Cessation in Middle-aged Heavy Smokers

Abstract Rationale. Electronic cigarette use is increasing at an exponential rate in Finland and internationally. The health consequences of vaporised aerosols in electronic cigarettes are largely unknown especially in a long run. Still, very few studies are available on quitting attempts with e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool compared to evidence based cessation pharmacotherapy in adult smokers who want to quit.

Research Objective: To investigate effectiveness and safety of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation in middle-aged smokers, and to compare the effectiveness of them to varenicline. Our study provides new information of success in smoking cessation among heavy adult smokers for clinicians.

Design: A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial with the intervention phase of 12 weeks and the observational phase up to 52 weeks. This is an investigator initiated study.

Setting: Volunteer middle-aged daily smokers, who were recruited through newspaper announcements. Some of the cohort subjects were re-recruited from our previous follow-up study as many of them continued daily smoking during the whole follow-up period.

Participants: Targeted sample size of 450 adult heavy smokers, who want to quit smoking and are willing to participate up to 52 weeks´ follow-up.

Intervention and procedures: Standardized self-reported questionnaires with detailed smoking history with assessment of motivation to quit smoking, parameters of nicotine dependence, symptoms will be included. Smoking status will be repeatedly reassessed during the study visits, and self-reported smoking abstinence is verified with exhaled-carbon monoxide (CO) assessment. All adverse side effects either of drugs or of e-cigarettes, and symptoms related to the drugs or to withdrawal from smoking will be carefully reported.