E-cigarettes are more effective than traditional methods like patches and gum for quitting smoking, according to a new study.
Nicotine e-cigarettes may be more effective in quitting smoking than traditional methods, a new study has found. But, growing scrutiny over these products also highlights other health risks.
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The study, led by researchers at the University of Oxford and published in the journal Addiction found that nicotine e-cigarettes were more effective for smoking cessation than other interventions such as gums and patches.
Researchers also developed an 'Evidence and Gap Map' to highlight areas where more research is needed.
“We hope this overview and Evidence and Gap Map can lay to rest some claims that evidence is ‘mixed’ regarding the impacts of nicotine e-cigarettes on smoking abstinence,” said Angela Difeng Wu, senior researcher and lecturer at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at Oxford.
“In fact, the evidence is clear and consistent across all of the meta-analyses we consulted: e-cigarettes are effective at helping people stop smoking.”
The review also found that evidence on serious adverse events remains inconclusive. For most other adverse events, the evidence suggested little or no difference between nicotine e-cigarettes and other treatments.
E-cigarettes have long been scrutinised as an alternative to smoking, and while experts agree that not smoking is always the healthier option, growing evidence points to them as a possible aid to quitting tobacco.
The researchers looked at 14 systematic reviews conducted between 2014 and 2023.
This included a 2024 Cochrane review that found that an additional two to five people for every 100 users would quit smoking with nicotine e-cigarettes compared to Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) such as patches or gum.
The Oxford researchers said that despite recent endorsement, uncertainties and perceived controversies about e-cigarettes' role in reducing smoking hamper international policy and clinical and personal decision-making.
Are e-cigarettes harmless?
The attitude towards these products remains divided. The evidence on the long-term health effects associated with e-cigarette use is evolving, largely due to the relatively short period that these products have been available to consumers and the continuing evolution of the product.
While growing evidence seems to show the effectiveness of e-cigarettes in quitting smoking, experts warn they are not risk-free and should be avoided among non-smokers.
A study published in February 2026 noted that while there is no current evidence from human studies to suggest that e-cigarettes cause cancer, there is evidence that people who use e-cigarettes are exposed to carcinogenic chemicals.
However, compared to traditional tobacco products, using e-cigarette products instead of smoking combustible tobacco leads to a significant reduction in exposure to cancer-causing chemicals, the study noted.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a vocal critic of vapes and e-cigarettes due to the impact on children.
In 2025, it estimated the global e-cigarette use for the first time and found that more than 100 million people worldwide are now vaping.
This included at least 15 million children, between 13 and 15 years old, already using e-cigarettes. In countries with data, children are on average nine times more likely than adults to vape, the WHO noted.
“E-cigarettes are fuelling a new wave of nicotine addiction,” said WHO’s Etienne Krug. “They are marketed as harm reduction but, in reality, are hooking kids on nicotine earlier and risk undermining decades of progress.”
