E-cigarette use and smoking reduction or cessation in the 2010/2011 TUS-CPS longitudinal cohort

BackgroundElectronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are heavily marketed and widely perceived as helpful for quitting or reducing smoking intensity. We test whether ever-use of e-cigarettes among early adopters was associated with: 1) increased cigarette smoking cessation; and 2) reduced cigarette consumption.MethodsA representative cohort of U.S. smokers (N = 2454) from the 2010 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS) was re-interviewed 1year later. Outcomes were smoking cessation for 30+ days and change in cigarette consumption at follow-up. E-cigarettes use was categorized as for cessation purposes or for another reason. Multivariate regression was used to adjust for demographics and baseline cigarette dependence level.ResultsIn 2011, an estimated 12% of adult U.S. smokers had ever used e-cigarettes, and 41% of these reported use to help quit smoking. Smokers who had used e-cigarettes for cessation were less likely to be quit for 30+ days at follow-up, compared to never-users who tried to quit (11.1% vs 21.6%; ORadj = 0.44, 95 % CI = 0.2-0.8). Among heavier smokers at baseline (15+ cigarettes per day (CPD)), ever-use of e-cigarettes was not associated with change in smoking consumption. Lighter smokers (