Trial reportNicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco2020
Withdrawal Symptoms From E-Cigarette Abstinence Among Former Smokers: A Pre-Post Clinical Trial.
Trial report in Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02825459 (Does Abstinence From E-cigarettes Produce Withdrawal Symptoms?), which is not on this map. Cited by 10 papers.
What it found
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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.
Does Abstinence From E-cigarettes Produce Withdrawal Symptoms?
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Changes in dependence, withdrawal, and craving among adult smokers who switch to nicotine salt pod-based e-cigarettes.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2022Trial
- Withdrawal Symptoms From E-Cigarette Abstinence Among Adult Never-Smokers: A Pilot Experimental Study.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2020Trial
- What is the Addictive Potential from Vaping?Nordisk alkohol- & narkotikatidskrift : NAT · 2026Article
- Attentional bias in young adult tobacco cigarette smokers and e-cigarette users: an eye-tracking study.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Assessment of withdrawal symptoms among e-cigarette users in Saudi Arabia.Tobacco induced diseases · 2026Article
- Characterization of a novel oronasal-restricted nicotine vaping self-administration model in mice.Neuropharmacology · 2025Article
- Sex differences in contextual fear conditioning and extinction after acute and chronic nicotine treatment.Biology of sex differences · 2024Article
- Development of Dependence in Smokers and Rodents With Voluntary Nicotine Intake: Similarities and Differences.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2023Review
- Addictive Potential of e-Cigarettes as Reported in e-Cigarette Online Forums: Netnographic Analysis of Subjective Experiences.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Why and how do dual users quit vaping? Survey findings from adults who use electronic and combustible cigarettesTobacco induced diseases · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe major aim of this study was to test whether abstinence from e-cigarettes causes withdrawal symptoms in former smokers.
methodsWe conducted an unblinded, within-participants, pre-post clinical trial in which 109 former smokers who were current daily electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) users used their own e-cigarette for 7 days followed by 6 days of biologically confirmed abstinence engendered via an escalating contingency payment system. Participants monitored symptoms of nicotine withdrawal daily via an Interactive Voice Response system. They also attended three laboratory visits per week for carbon monoxide and cotinine testing to verify abstinence.
resultsHalf of participants completely abstained for a week. All the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) tobacco withdrawal symptoms, craving for e-cigarettes, craving for tobacco cigarettes, and the four possible new withdrawal symptoms (anhedonia, impulsivity, mood swings, and positive affect) increased during abstinence. Weight increased and heart rate decreased with abstinence. Symptoms showed the prototypical inverted U time pattern of a withdrawal state. The magnitude of withdrawal appeared to be somewhat less than that in a prior study of abstinent daily tobacco cigarette smokers. More severe withdrawal on the first 2 days of abstinence did not predict abstinence on the last day of the study.
conclusionsFormer smokers who are daily e-cigarette users transfer physical dependence on tobacco cigarettes to dependence on e-cigarettes. The severity of withdrawal from e-cigarettes appears to be only somewhat less than that from daily tobacco cigarette use. Replication tests that include placebo controls, testing for pharmacological specificity, and including never-smokers, non-daily e-cigarette users and dual users are indicated. IMPLICATIONS: Our results indicate e-cigarettes can maintain physical dependence. This adverse effect should be included in any risk vs. benefit calculation. Also, potential and current e-cigarette users should be informed that abrupt cessation of e-cigarettes can cause withdrawal symptoms.
trial registrationNCT02825459.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.