Should E-Cigarettes Be Recommended as a Harm-Reduction Tactic for Smoking Cessation?

The prevalence of smoking in the U.S. has dropped steadily in recent decades, but smoking-related diseases and deaths remain a substantial issue. The most recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved smoking-cessation medication, varenicline, was approved in 2006 — the same year that electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) debuted in the U.S. E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that heat a liquid, typically containing nicotine, with the subsequent aerosol inhaled or “vaped.” Vaping nicotine maintains a smoker's nicotine dependence but eliminates exposure to toxins that result from burning tobacco and thus holds promise as a smoking-cessation strategy.

In 2024, researchers published several studies in which e-cigarettes were evaluated…