Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38873183›Full record

ArticleTobacco induced diseases2024

Level and timing of product substitution in a trial of e-cigarettes for smokers not interested in quitting.

James D Sargent, Sarah I Pratt, Mary F Brunette, Joelle C Ferron, Meghan M Santos, Mike Stoolmiller

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Tobacco induced diseases, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03050853 (The Appeal and Impact of E-cigarettes in Smokers With Serious Mental Illness), which is not on this map. Cited by 4 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT03050853 nacompletednot on this map

The Appeal and Impact of E-cigarettes in Smokers With Serious Mental Illness

TypeinterventionalSponsorDartmouth-Hitchcock Medical CenterRan2017 to 2021Enrolled240ConditionsTobacco Dependence, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Schizoaffective DisorderArmsE-cigarette
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025
    Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

James D SargentDepartment of Pediatrics, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, United States.
Sarah I PrattDepartment of Psychiatry, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, United States.
Mary F BrunetteDepartment of Psychiatry, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, United States.
Joelle C FerronDepartment of Psychiatry, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, United States.
Meghan M SantosDepartment of Psychiatry, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, United States.
Mike StoolmillerBoston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe e-cigarette market is large and diverse. Traditional smoking cessation trials involving a control group and a 6-month observation period are an inefficient methodology for testing the multiple treatment options e-cigarettes provide for harm reduction in cigarette smokers. We determined when product substitution occurred in the e-cigarette provision arm of an e-cigarette substitution trial for cigarette smokers who were not interested in quitting.

methodsWe conducted a secondary analysis of 120 cigarette smokers with severe mental illness (recruitment 2017-2020) who were given disposable e-cigarettes for 8 weeks and assessed at weeks 0 (t0), 2, 4, 6, and 8. We explored product substitution through visit-to-visit correlations in change in product use, then developed a dual process growth model for cigarette and e-cigarette use to test the association between increases in e-cigarette use and concurrent decreases in cigarettes smoked.

resultsMean age of the participants was 45.9 years, and 42.7% smoked ≥20 cigarettes per day. Almost all product substitution occurred between t0 and t2. For the average smoker (18 cigarettes per day), t2 cigarette frequency decreased by 0.39 (95% CI: -0.56 - -0.22) cigarettes for each additional e-cigarette session. There was effect modification (p=0.033), such that baseline light smokers (<10 cigarettes/day) had no significant decrease in t2 cigarette frequency, regardless of their initial increase in e-cigarette use, while heavy smokers (38 cigarettes/day) switched products nearly on a one-to-one basis.

conclusionsIn this study, most product substitution occurred early, and heavier smokers had larger t2 decreases in cigarettes/day with increased e-cigarette use. If confirmed with replication studies, the findings could suggest establishment of a novel outcome for e-cigarette studies - early product substitution - and support the value of short-term comparative effectiveness trials that compare multiple potentially lower harm tobacco products. CLINICAL

trial registrationThe study was registered on the official website of ClinicalTrials.gov. IDENTIFIER: ID NCT03050853.

Indexed as

electronic cigarettesharm reductionmethodsswitching trial

Identifiers

PMID38873183
PMCPMC11170977

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Registered trials

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.