Ready to quit vaping in the new year? A new study reveals the best ways

A ‘groundbreaking’ anti-smoking pill being rolled out across the NHS could be the best way to help quit vaping, research has suggested.

Brits are taking to vaping in unprecedented numbers, with an estimated one in ten adults addicted to the habit.

But while vapes are generally considered safer than cigarettes and a useful smoking cessation tool, studies show that about 8 percent of adult vapers have never smoked before.

Academics from the US and Britain now believe two common tools recommended by health chiefs to quit smoking could be key to thwarting the habit.

Their groundbreaking review of nine studies, involving more than 5,000 participants, found that the tablet vareniclines – known as Champix – and text message-based interventions were the most effective.

However, experts, who labeled the findings as ‘important’, warned that further research is still crucial before this advice is rolled out more widely.

The daily pill Varenicline was first marketed in Britain by Pfizer in 2006.

However, it was withdrawn in 2021 after it was found to contain elevated levels of the potentially carcinogenic substance N-nitroso-varenicline.

But the drug, which triples the chance of quitting smoking, will soon be offered again on the NHS but is manufactured by another pharmaceutical company Teva UK.

“This is an area of ​​research that is still in its infancy but is growing rapidly and organically from people who vape and are asking for help to quit vaping,” said Jamie Hartmann, senior author and assistant professor of health policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Boyce, said.

‘We also know that people who use vaping as a way to quit smoking are often keen to know how they can safely transition from vaping without returning to smoking, which is very important.’

Dr. Ailsa Butler, lead author of the study and a public health policy expert at the University of Oxford, added: ‘With the results of our Cochrane review, healthcare professionals now have the first evidence for specific approaches they can recommend, especially for younger people who want to stop vaping.

‘However, we urgently need more research to explore these and other approaches.’

E-cigarettes allow people to inhale nicotine in a vapor, which is produced by heating a liquid, which typically contains propylene glycol, glycerin, flavorings and other chemicals.

Unlike traditional cigarettes, they do not contain tobacco or produce tar or carbon – two of the most dangerous elements.

Nicotine’s effect on the brain is well known: within 20 seconds of inhalation, it causes the release of chemical messengers such as dopamine, which are associated with reward and pleasure.

But it also increases heart rate and blood pressure and causes blood vessels to constrict. This is because nicotine causes the release of the hormone adrenaline.

Despite NHS chiefs insisting it is safer than smoking, vaping is not without risk. E-cigarettes contain harmful toxins and their long-term effects remain a mystery.

Experts are concerned that the high nicotine content could raise blood pressure and cause other heart problems.

Doctors have expressed fears that a wave of lung disease, dental problems and even cancer could emerge in the coming decades in people who started taking it at a young age.

The study found that Varenicline is “potentially effective for adults trying to quit vaping,” researchers said.

However, due to the limited number of studies specifically assessing its impact on vaping, further research is critical.

Scientists also found that programs designed to provide support via text messages proved to be particularly effective for youth ages 13 to 24.

“The interventions tested are comparable to the interventions that we know help people quit smoking,” says Professor Hartmann-Boyce.

‘But we don’t know that they necessarily help people quit vaping, which is why it’s important that we have these trials.’

Last April, a shock study warned that e-cigarettes could increase the risk of heart failure.

Another suggested that vaping causes cell changes that could cause cancer.

Last year, MailOnline also found that the number of adverse side effects linked to vaping reported to UK regulators has now surpassed 1,000, five of which were fatal.

The extensive list includes everything from headaches to strokes. Citizens and doctors can submit these.

In July, in a world-first guidance document outlining possible interventions to help people stop using tobacco products, the World Health Organization described the evidence surrounding e-cigarettes as ‘complex’.

Vapes cannot be recommended as a way to quit smoking because too little is known about the harms and benefits, the UN agency said.