Their popularity has sparked in recent years and it’s not uncommon to see them in many public places. “E-cigs,” or electronic cigarettes (photo), have seemingly become a cultural norm, and they’re often touted as being effective in kicking traditional cigarette-smoking habits.
However, thanks to a recent $3.6-million research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Moffitt Cancer Center (located on the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus off Bruce B. Downs [BBD] Blvd., a few miles south of Tampa Palms), is poised to get to the bottom of the safety issues involved with the electronic nicotine distributors.
According to a June 29 press release, Moffitt received a grant to study the use of E-cigs during the next five years. The goal? To find out if E-cigs really are any safer than traditional cigarettes and whether or not they really can assist in kicking the habit, as many advertise.
“Public health researchers are really playing catch-up with the explosion of e-cigarettes onto the marketplace,” said lead investigator and the director of Moffitt’s Tobacco Research & Intervention Program, Dr. Thomas Brandon, Ph.D.
“With millions of smokers trying e-cigarettes in an effort to quit smoking, I’m delighted that the (NIH) is interested in determining the effectiveness of that strategy, and that Moffitt will be conducting among the first studies in this area of research,” Dr. Brandon said. Moffitt spokeperson Kim Polacek said that NIH currently funds only between 10-20 percent of grant applications per year.
During the first year of the study, Moffitt researchers will be interviewing E-cig users to learn about their experiences and their perceptions of the pros and cons of these smoking substitutes. The researchers want to interview current and former smokers who also are current or former E-cig users. Interviews officially began the first week of July, Dr. Brandon explained.
“For the first study, we are looking to interview people who have used both e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes simultaneously at one time,” Dr. Brandon said, adding that researchers want to interview people from three different groups:
1. People who are currently using both cigarettes and E-cigs, whether or not they have tried to quit smoking or are interested in quitting smoking.
2. Former smokers who are currently using only E-cigs.
3. People who have already quit using both traditional cigarettes and E-cigs.
“We have already received many volunteers from group 2, but we are still seeking additional people from groups 1 and 3,” Dr. Brandon said. If you fit either of the criteria for the study, see below.
During the final four years of the study, researchers at Moffitt will enroll 2,500 E-cig users throughout the U.S. and follow them for 24 months by sending them surveys every three months. The research is expected to provide valuable data about the long-term use of E-cigs and their value for quitting smoking.
“Millions of smokers are using e-cigarettes to try to quit smoking, yet because there is a lack of data, (doctors) are not able to advise them about whether or not that is an effective smoking cessation strategy,” Brandon explains. “This study should provide some answers that will be very useful to smokers as they consider ways to quit.”
To participate in the E-cig study, you must be at least 18 years old and must have used E-cigs for at least one month and spent at least one year as a daily smoker.
For more information, e-cigarette users interested in being interviewed for the study should call Moffitt’s Tobacco Research and Intervention Program toll-free at 1 (877) 954-2548.
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