Tobacco Smoking Cessation in Adults, Including Pregnant Persons: Behavioral and Pharmacotherapy Interventions — (Electronic Cigarettes)

1. Effectiveness of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation.
2. Well-designed RCTs that compare e-cigarette interventions with placebo, as well as established, effective combinations of pharmacotherapy and behavioral support.
3. Adequately powered studies to detect differences in continued smoking abstinence rates at 6 months or more.
4. Smoking relapse rates in adults who have used e-cigarettes for smoking cessation and how to help with cessation of e-cigarette use once smoking abstinence has been achieved.
5. Given the high rate of continued e-cigarette use after smoking cessation, research on both the short- and long-term harms of e-cigarette use is needed, as well as the harms in dual users of e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes.
6. Trials should include current generations of e-cigarettes. Additionally, to successfully conduct these types of studies, standardization of how to quantify e-cigarette use and levels of nicotine exposure from e-cigarettes is needed.
7. Patterns of e-cigarette use in youth and the risk factors for their transition from e-cigarette use to conventional cigarette smoking.
8. Patterns of e-cigarette use in pregnant persons and potential harms of e-cigarette use to both pregnant persons and their offspring.
9. Understanding how to help adults quit e-cigarettes.

The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) for tobacco cessation in adults, including pregnant persons.

Tobacco Smoking Cessation in Adults, Including Pregnant Persons: Behavioral and Pharmacotherapy Interventions — (Electronic Cigarettes) Read full statement 1