Electronic Cigarette Use and Smoking Abstinence in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Study of Quitting Methods

Tomoyasu Hirano, Takahiro Tabuchi, Rika Nakahara, Naoki Kunugita and Yumiko Mochizuki-Kobayashi
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Tomoyasu Hirano: Center for Cancer Control and Information Services/Center for Public Health Sciences, National Cancer Center, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan
Takahiro Tabuchi: Center for Cancer Control and Statistics, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Osaka 537-8511, Japan
Rika Nakahara: National Cancer Center Hospital, National Cancer Center, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan
Naoki Kunugita: Department of Environmental Health, National Institute of Public Health, Saitama 351-0197, Japan
Yumiko Mochizuki-Kobayashi: Center for Cancer Control and Information Services/Center for Public Health Sciences, National Cancer Center, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-9

Abstract: The benefit of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) in smoking cessation remains controversial. Recently, e-cigarettes have been gaining popularity in Japan, without evidence of efficacy on quitting cigarettes. We conducted an online survey to collect information on tobacco use, difficulties in smoking cessation, socio-demographic factors, and health-related factors in Japan. Among the total participants (n = 9055), 798 eligible persons aged 20–69 years who smoked within the previous five years were analyzed to assess the relationship between the outcome of smoking cessation and quitting methods used, including e-cigarettes, smoking cessation therapy, and unassisted. E-cigarette use was negatively associated with smoking cessation (odds ratio (OR) = 0.632; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.414–0.964) after adjusting for gender, age, health-related factors, and other quitting methods. Conversely, smoking cessation therapy (i.e., varenicline) was significantly associated with smoking cessation (OR = 1.885; 95% CI = 1.018–3.492) in the same model. For effective smoking cessation, e-cigarette use appears to have low efficacy among smokers in Japan. Allowing for the fact that this study is limited by its cross-sectional design, follow-up studies are needed to assess the prospective association between e-cigarette use and smoking cessation.

Keywords: electronic cigarettes; smoking cessation; smoking cessation therapy; quitting methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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