Using e-cigarettes for smoking cessation : evaluation of a pilot project in the North West of England

Coffey, M ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5837-5532, Cooper-Ryan, AM ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8305-8587, Houston, L, Thompson, K and Cook, PA ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6435-8050 2020, 'Using e-cigarettes for smoking cessation : evaluation of a pilot project in the North West of England' , Perspectives in Public Health .

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Abstract

Aims: E-cigarettes have been advocated as an effective smoking cessation intervention, with evidence indicating that they are substantially less harmful than conventional cigarettes. As a result, a pilot to encourage people to swap from conventional cigarettes to e-cigarettes was conducted in 2018 in a socially deprived area in the North West of England. This evaluation highlights the key findings from the pilot. Methods: An analysis of secondary data at 4 weeks (n = 1022) was undertaken to predict those who used solely used e-cigarettes (i.e. had quit tobacco, as confirmed by a carbon monoxide test, CO < 10 ppm) from baseline characteristics, using chi-square tests and logistic regression. Baseline data were demographics, smoking levels and service provider type. Results: Of the 1022 participants who engaged with the pilot 614 were still engaged at 4 weeks, of whom 62% had quit; quitting was more likely in younger participants (aged 18–24) and less likely in those who were sick and disabled. Of those who still smoked tobacco at week 4 (n = 226), smoking had reduced from a baseline of 19.1 cigarettes/day to 8.7. Overall, 37% (381) of those initially enrolled were confirmed to be using an e-cigarette on its own at follow-up. Successful quit was associated with occupation (unemployed, 33% vs intermediate, 47%, p = .023) and residing in the less deprived quintiles of deprivation (50% vs 34% in the most deprived quintile, p = .016). Conclusions: Making the conservative assumption that all those not in contact at 4 weeks were still smoking tobacco, for every five people entering the scheme, three people stayed on the programme and reduced their cigarette smoking and one person cut out tobacco altogether. E-cigarettes appear to be an effective nicotine replacement therapy; however, further research is required to determine whether e-cigarette users are more likely to reduce their overall nicotine consumption in the longer term.

Item Type:	Article
Schools:	Schools > School of Health and Society > Centre for Health Sciences Research
Journal or Publication Title:	Perspectives in Public Health
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
ISSN:	1757-9139
Related URLs:	Publication
Funders:	Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership
Depositing User:	M Coffey
Date Deposited:	04 Jun 2020 13:41
Last Modified:	04 Jun 2020 13:45
URI:	http://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/57044

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