A study will evaluate the effectiveness of the electronic cigarette to quit smoking

Public Assistance – Hospitals of Paris (AP-HP) is launching a national study to evaluate the effectiveness of electronic cigarettes, with or without nicotine, as a smoking cessation aid, compared to a drug, varenicline (Champix), according to a statement released Tuesday, the day of the launch of the "month without tobacco". It is estimated that about 1.7 million daily "vapers" in France (2016 figures), but knowledge about the effectiveness of electronic cigarettes and their potential risks are missing, notes the AP-HP in its statement.

This study, called ECSMOKE and funded by the health authorities, aims to recruit at least 650 smokers (at least 10 cigarettes a day) aged 18 to 70 and wanting to quit. These participants will be supported in 12 hospital smoking clinics (Angers, Caen, Clamart, Clermont-Ferrand, La Rochelle, Lille Lyon, Nancy, Nimes, Paris, Poitiers, Villejuif). Participants will be followed for 6 months after stopping smoking. "The goal is to be sure that e-cigarettes with nicotine help stop smoking," says Dr. Ivan Berlin, addictologist and pharmacologist at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital.

For now, the data on the electronic cigarette are rebaduring compared to those collected for decades on the harmful consequences of smoking. Moreover, the High Council of Public Health (HCSP) already considers since 2016 that the electronic cigarette is a help to stop or reduce tobacco consumption. "If you stop using tobacco altogether instead of using an electronic cigarette containing nicotine, you reduce the risk of developing serious diseases, such as cancer," says Tobacco Info Service.

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Expected results in 4 years

Tobacco specialists will provide a power-adjustable electronic cigarette with "blond tobacco" -taste liquids with or without nicotine (12 mg / ml), varenicline tablets (a stop smoking drug) or a placebo version. The participants will be randomly divided into three groups, one taking placebo tablets and nicotine-free vaping liquids, the second placebo and nicotine-containing fluids, and the last group of varenicline liquid-free tablets. nicotine. Treatments will be given free of charge.

Participants will have to stop smoking within 7 to 15 days of the start of the study. A tobacco consultation will take place before the start of treatment and six visits will be scheduled. The evaluation of smoking cessation will be done through clinical, biological and questionnaire examinations. Participants who would be relapsed will still be part of the study and will be followed in the same way.

In addition to the effectiveness of vaping, the study will attempt to measure the badociated risks, especially in the over-45s, age at which the majority of smokers already have a health disorder related to smoking. The results are expected in four years.

Smokers interested in participating in the study can find all the information on www.aphp.fr