E-cigarettes as good as nicotine patches in helping smokers quit

Smokers who switch to electronic cigarettes to try to kick their habit are at least as likely to succeed in quitting or cutting down as users of nicotine patches, according to research published on Sunday.

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers compared electronic, or e-cigarettes, with the more standard nicotine replacement therapy patches.

They found levels of success were comparable, with e-cigarettes - whose effects are a subject of intense debate among health experts - more likely to help smokers who fail to quit cut the amount of tobacco they use.

Some experts fear e-cigarettes may be a "gateway" to nicotine addiction and tobacco smoking, while others view them as the most useful method yet of cutting back and helping would-be quitters.

While the argument rumbles on, smoking continues to kill half of all those who indulge in it.

Tobacco is responsible for 6 million deaths a year and the World Health Organisation estimate that number could rise beyond 8 million by 2030.

As well as causing lung cancer and other chronic respiratory conditions, smoking is also a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases, the world's number-one killer.

The popularity of e-cigarettes suggests that we now have a product that can compete with cigarettes, thus heralding the first real possibility that cigarette smoking could be phased out."

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