E-Cigarettes are Less Addictive than Tobacco Cigarettes

Over 70% of smokers surveyed in a recent University of London survey quit smoking using e-cigarettes, and 38% had not had a cigarette for more than a year.

The study also found that electronic cigarettes were less addictive than tobacco cigarettes.

Only 18% of users said cravings for e-cigarettes were as strong as for cigarettes, and vapers (e-cigarette users) also said that they were waiting longer  before having their first puff of the day.

The study also found that smokers who had switched to vaping found a number of benefits:

· greater ability to breathe

· fewer cravings

· less throat irritation and jaw aching

A survey we carried out in 2008 with the University of Alberta also found a number of health benefits to switching.

Only one percent of users surveyed used zero nicotine ecigarettes – most used 0.8%.

The EU tobacco directive aims to allow a maximum of 0.4% nicotine in electronic cigarettes, which Chris Price of the Electronic Cigarette Consumer Association (ECCA UK) believes would make it would make it useless for about 93% of electronic cigarette users.

Despite what the EU claims, the tobacco directive remains, in effect, a ban.

Unfortunately, the results are likely to be somewhat skewed as they were recruited using a link from an e-cigarette retailer’s website. People who have tried and failed to use electronic cigarettes are obviously less likely to visit a website than people who are continuing to use electronic cigarettes.

Nevertheless, the survey adds weight to the growing number of studies (including this one and this one) which show that electronic cigarettes are more effective than other methods.