Snus is the aid that helps most people quit smoking in Norway. This is according to a study recently published by researchers at the Norwegian Public Health Agency.
Snus, e-cigarettes, chewing gum, patches and prescription medicines. These are all smoking cessation products that are available for smokers in Norway who want to quit smoking. But how effective are the different tools, and how are they used by Norwegian smokers? Researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health want to find out, by analyzing statistical data from 1424 people who have quit or tried to quit smoking in recent years.
Snus stands out in the statistics
About a quarter of smokers in the study had never tried to quit. Among those who had tried, half did not use any tool at all on their last attempt. In relation to e-cigarettes, nicotine replacement therapy and prescription medicines such as varenicline (champix), 'cold turkey' was associated with as many successful quit attempts as tool use. Snus was the only one that stood out in the statistics.
"Snus was the only aid that really had an effect. At the same time, the results point to the fact that access to many aids, whether they are medicines, e-cigarettes or stop-smoking apps, is important for more people to quit smoking," writes the researchers in the report
Surprising results
The researchers were surprised that neither traditional nicotine replacement therapy nor e-cigarettes were associated with more successful quit attempts in Norway. This is because the results contradict major international studies.
"We have seen in previous studies, including Cochrane Reviews, that e-cigarettes have the potential to help significantly more people quit smoking, compared to, for example, nicotine replacement therapy. We could not see such an association in Norway." The researchers write.
E-cigs difficult to access
The explanation may lie in how the availability of e-cigarettes is the case in Norway. Nicotine e-liquid is illegal to sell, and requires users to import it themselves.
"Although nicotine liquids are relatively easy to purchase from abroad in online stores, the lack of physical availability may present a barrier that leads some of those who want to try e-cigarettes for smoking cessation to use nicotine-free liquids instead. This is especially true for individuals who mistakenly believe that nicotine is the most harmful ingredient in cigarettes," the researchers write.
Fear of nicotine
In the case of traditional nicotine medicines, researchers have a similar explanation, although so-called NRT products are openly available in Norway.
"NRT is the nicotine product recommended by health authorities as an effective cessation aid. However, despite abundant marketing and high availability, with sales from grocery stores and pharmacies, our study found no association with smoking cessation. Low doses of nicotine have been reported as one of the limitations of NRT products as a substitute for cigarettes, which becomes evident in real-world settings, without any behavioral support." the researchers write.
Never take the first cigarette.