A clinical study from Finland shows that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes can be just as effective as the drug varenicline in helping people quit smoking. The study confirms previous research findings from the UK and international bodies.
The Finnish study investigating the effectiveness of vejpar with nicotine compared to the smoking cessation drug varenicline was led by a team of researchers from the Lapland Central Hospital in Rovaniemi and the University Hospital of Oulu. The aim was to compare the efficacy of nicotine-based e-cigarettes with varenicline - a common smoking cessation medicine.
Varenicline selectively binds to the acetylcholine receptor, which is the same way that nicotine works. As a result, the medicine reduces nicotine withdrawal in the user. In the United States, varenicline is already authorised as a medicine and sold under the name Chantix. In Sweden, it has been sold since 2006 under the name Champix, but was withdrawn in 2021 by the manufacturer Pfizer due to levels of N-nitroso-varenicline (a nitrosamine) that were above the limit. The medicine is expected to be available again in Sweden in 2025 at the earliest.
Study with three experimental groups
The Finnish study was conducted between 2018 and 2020 in northern Finland, but was recently published. 458 adult smokers with moderate to heavy nicotine dependence participated. They were all self-reportedly motivated to quit smoking.
The researchers randomly divided the subjects into three groups. One group received nicotine-based e-cigarettes along with placebo tablets, another group received varenicline along with nicotine-free e-cigarettes, and the third group received both placebo tablets and nicotine-free e-cigarettes. All participants also received motivational interviewing during the 12-week intervention phase.
Same results for varenicline and e-cigs
The results showed that 40.4% of participants in the e-cigarette group and 43.8% in the varenicline group were able to abstain from smoking for at least seven days after 26 weeks, compared to only 19.7% in the placebo group. However, the difference between e-cigarettes and varenicline was not statistically significant, suggesting that both methods are about equally effective for smoking cessation. No serious adverse events were reported in the study.
The conclusion drawn by the Finnish researchers is therefore that nicotine e-cigarettes are as effective an alternative for adult smokers who want to quit traditional cigarettes, and that they produce similar results to the proven, patented drug.
Confirms previous studies
The Finnish researchers emphasise in their report that more research is needed to fully understand the long-term effects of e-cigarette use in smoking cessation. At the same time, the new study confirms an earlier one conducted at the Universities of Oxford and Leshister. The UK study was published in 2023, and showed similar results. The international healthcare institute Cochrane Reviews has also come to the same conclusion based on the evidence currently available.
According to the Swedish Public Health Agency and the National Board of Health and Welfare, there is currently no evidence of the effectiveness of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation. It is unclear whether either the British or Finnish study has caught their attention.
