Trial reportNature medicine2022
Electronic cigarettes versus nicotine patches for smoking cessation in pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Nature medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 39 papers, 10 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
39 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 75 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between e-cigarette use and cigarette abstinence or changes in continued cigarette smoking among individuals who smoke cigarettes.Harm reduction journal · 2026Pooled it
- Evidence-based consensus guidelines for the pharmacological management of substance dependence: Recommendations from the British Association for Psychopharmacology.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Guideline
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Longitudinal Patterns in Smoking Abstinence in Trials of E-cigarettes for Smoking Cessation: Secondary Analysis of Data From a Systematic Review, With Meta-Analyses.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2025Pooled it
- Modifying the Use of Alcohol and Cigarettes in the Antepartum.Current psychiatry reports · 2025Pooled it
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- The potential of new nicotine and tobacco products as tools for people who smoke to quit combustible cigarettes - a systematic review of common practices and guidance towards a robust study protocol to measure cessation efficacy.Harm reduction journal · 2024Pooled it
- Vaping during pregnancy: a systematic review of health outcomes.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Pooled 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
- Patterns of e-Cigarette Use and Smoking Cessation Outcomes: Secondary Analysis of a Large Randomised Controlled Trial to Inform Clinical Advice.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2026Trial
- Early insights from a national scheme providing vaping devices for smoking cessation: A preliminary evaluation to inform future return-on-investment modelling in England.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Article
- The emerging role of oral nicotine pouches in tobacco harm reduction.Internal and emergency medicine · 2026Review
- Talking to Your Patients About Alcohol, Marijuana, and Substance Use During Pregnancy.The primary care companion for CNS disorders · 2025Article
- Toxicant and Nicotine Exposure in Pregnant Smokers, Vapers, and Nicotine-Replacement Users: Cross-Sectional Study.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2025Article
- The impact of electronic cigarettes on pregnancy and childhood health outcomes: the ECHO study-a protocol for a multicentre, prospective, observational, cohort.Archives of gynecology and obstetrics · 2025Article
- myCOtrak: an app which records smoking, nicotine use and exhaled carbon monoxide concentrations concurrently for use in smoking research.BMC research notes · 2025Article
- Cigarette Smoking Relapse Among People Who Switched to E-cigarettes or Other Tobacco Products.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
19 authors at 8 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Nicotine replacement therapy, in the form of nicotine patches, is commonly offered to pregnant women who smoke to help them to stop smoking, but this approach has limited efficacy in this population. Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are also used by pregnant women who smoke but their safety and efficacy in pregnancy are unknown. Here, we report the results of a randomized controlled trial in 1,140 participants comparing refillable e-cigarettes with nicotine patches. Pregnant women who smoked were randomized to e-cigarettes (n = 569) or nicotine patches (n = 571). In the unadjusted analysis of the primary outcome, validated prolonged quit rates at the end of pregnancy in the two study arms were not significantly different (6.8% versus 4.4% in the e-cigarette and patch arms, respectively; relative risk (RR) = 1.55, 95%CI: 0.95-2.53, P = 0.08). However, some participants in the nicotine patch group also used e-cigarettes during the study. In a pre-specified sensitivity analysis excluding abstinent participants who used non-allocated products, e-cigarettes were more effective than patches (6.8% versus 3.6%; RR = 1.93, 95%CI: 1.14-3.26, P = 0.02). Safety outcomes included adverse events and maternal and birth outcomes. The safety profile was found to be similar for both study products, however, low birthweight (<2,500 g) was less frequent in the e-cigarette arm (14.8% versus 9.6%; RR = 0.65, 95%CI: 0.47-0.90, P = 0.01). Other adverse events and birth outcomes were similar in the two study arms. E-cigarettes might help women who are pregnant to stop smoking, and their safety for use in pregnancy is similar to that of nicotine patches. ISRCTN62025374.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
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 Socratic graph.