Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41560608›Full record

Trial reportAddiction (Abingdon, England)2026

Continuing use of e-cigarettes after stopping smoking and relapse: Secondary analysis of a large randomised controlled trial.

Peter Hajek, Dunja Przulj, Katie Myers Smith, Jinshuo Li, Peter Sasieni, Louise Ross, Hayden McRobbie, Maciej Goniewicz, Francesca Pesola

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Review
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

9 authors.

Peter HajekWolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-9160-4296
Dunja PrzuljWolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-1133-8835
Katie Myers SmithWolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-1837-3924
Jinshuo LiDepartment of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-1496-7450
Peter SasieniWolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
Louise RossNational Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training, Leicester, UK.
Hayden McRobbieWolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-7777-1845
Maciej GoniewiczRoswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6748-3068
Francesca PesolaWolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-2054-7930

Funding

Barts Hospital Charity G-002207Cancer Research UK A16893The National Institute for Health Research, Health Technology Assessment Programme 12/167/135
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimsSmokers quitting successfully with the help of e-cigarettes often continue vaping. It is not known whether this promotes or prevents relapse back to smoking. This study aimed to determine whether use of e-cigarettes after successful smoking cessation affects the probability of relapse later on.

designSecondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial where participants received combination nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) or e-cigarettes to compare relapse rates in the two study arms and in abstainers who did and did not use e-cigarettes.

settingFour stop-smoking services in the United Kingdom.

participants886 smokers (median age 41, smoking on average 15 cigarettes per day, 48% female) seeking help with stopping smoking. MEASUREMENTS: Main outcome was relapse to smoking by 12 months in participants who were abstinent at 4 weeks or at 6 months. Relapse was defined as abstinence at 4 weeks but not at one year or abstinence at 6 months but not at one year. Abstinence from smoking was defined as no smoking over the past 7 days. E-cigarette use was defined as using e-cigarettes at the time of abstinence on at least one day per week.

findingsAbstainers in the e-cigarette arm were less likely to relapse than abstainers in the NRT arm [relative risk (RR) = 0.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.64-0.96 for relapse between 4 weeks and 1 year; RR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.55-0.93 for relapse between 6 months and 1 year). Relapse rates over both time periods were also lower in abstainers who used e-cigarettes compared with abstainers who did not use e-cigarettes (RR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.65-0.97 and RR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.57-0.98, respectively).

conclusionsUse of e-cigarettes after stopping smoking is associated with a reduced risk of relapse.

Indexed as

Electronic Nicotine Delivery SystemsSmoking CessationVapingAdultFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNicotine Replacement TherapyRecurrenceUnited Kingdome‐cigaretteNRTRCTrelapsesecondary analysisvaping

Identifiers

PMID41560608
PMCPMC12980290

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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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 Socratic graph.