ArticleTobacco induced diseases2015
E-cigarettes versus NRT for smoking reduction or cessation in people with mental illness: secondary analysis of data from the ASCEND trial.
Article in Tobacco induced diseases, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 17 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 17 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2026Pooled it
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Duration of the effectiveness of nicotine electronic cigarettes on smoking cessation and reduction: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Smoking reduction interventions for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Are Electronic Cigarettes an Effective Aid to Smoking Cessation or Reduction Among Vulnerable Groups? A Systematic Review of Quantitative and Qualitative Evidence.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2019Pooled it
- How do we determine the impact of e-cigarettes on cigarette smoking cessation or reduction? Review and recommendations for answering the research question with scientific rigor.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2018Pooled it
- Smoking cessation in severe mental ill health: what works? an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2017Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Overview of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems: A Systematic Review.American journal of preventive medicine · 2017Pooled it
- E-cigarettes and smoking cessation in real-world and clinical settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Lancet. Respiratory medicine · 2016Pooled it
- Providing an e-cigarette starter kit for smoking cessation and reduction as adjunct to usual care to smokers with a mental health condition: findings from the ESCAPE feasibility study.BMC psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Analyzing Trajectories of Acute Cigarette Reduction Post-Introduction of an E-Cigarette Using Ecological Momentary Assessment Data.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of a Novel Smoking Cessation App Designed for Individuals With Co-Occurring Tobacco Use Disorder and Serious Mental Illness.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2020Trial
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPeople with mental illness have higher rates of smoking than the general population and are at greater risk of smoking-related death and disability. In smokers from the general population, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have been shown to have a similar effect on quit rates as nicotine replacement therapy, but little is known about their effect in smokers with mental illness.
methodsSecondary analysis of data from the ASCEND trial involving 657 dependent adult smokers motivated to quit, randomised to 16 mg nicotine e-cigarette, 21 mg nicotine patch, or 0 mg nicotine e-cigarette, with minimal behavioural support. Using self-reported medication use and the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System, we identified 86 participants with mental illness and analysed their cessation and smoking reduction outcomes.
resultsFor e-cigarettes alone, and all interventions pooled, there was no statistically significant difference in biochemically verified quit rates at six months between participants with and without mental illness, nor in smoking reduction, adverse events, treatment compliance, or acceptability. Rates of relapse to smoking were higher in participants with mental illness. Among this group, differences between treatments were not statistically significant for cessation (patch 14% [5/35], 16 mg e-cigarette 5% [2/39], 0 mg e-cigarette 0% [0/12], p = 0.245), adverse events or relapse rates. However, e-cigarette users had higher levels of smoking reduction, treatment compliance, and acceptability.
conclusionsThe use of e-cigarettes for quitting appears to be equally effective, safe, and acceptable for people with and without mental illness. For people with mental illness, e-cigarettes may be as effective and safe as patches, yet more acceptable, and associated with greater smoking reduction.
trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical trials Registry, number: ACTRN12610000866000.
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