Factors Associated With Past 30-day Abstinence From Cigarette Smoking in Adult Established Smokers Who Used a JUUL Vaporizer for 6 Months
Bottom Line: Roughly one-third of smokers enrolled in a large sample and one-half of smokers who responded reported that they had achieved at least 30 days of smoking abstinence after using a JUUL e-cigarette for 6 months. One-fifth of participants and 40 percent of respondents reported 30-day smoking abstinence at 3 and 6 months. Those who used flavored pods had significantly higher smoking abstinence rates, suggesting the impact of suspending flavored pod sales could reduce quit rates.
This study examines the rates at which new JUUL users reported having quit smoking completely or continued to use both cigarettes and the JUUL vaporizer after 3 and 6 months. It also reports the rates at which those new JUUL users who had quit smoking after 3 months maintained this quit or had resumed smoking at the 6-month follow-up.
The odds of reporting past 30-day abstinence from smoking at the 6-month assessments significantly varied by five JUUL-related factors:
- Primary JUULpod flavor used in the 30 days prior to the 6-month assessment,
- Number of days of use of a JUUL vaporizer in the 30 days prior to the 6-month assessment,
- Place of first purchase of a JUUL Starter Kit,
- Whether or not participants first purchased a JUUL vaporizer to help them quit smoking cigarettes, and
- Past 30-day use of any other e-cigarette other than JUUL vaporizer.
It finds that one-third of enrolled JUUL users and one-half of responding JUUL users reported that they had quit smoking for at least 30 days after 6 months of use. When the analysis was restricted to only participants who completed both the 3-month assessment and the 6-month assessment, past 30-day smoking abstinence at both the 3-month assessment and the 6-month assessment was 40.6%. Twice as many respondents quit between the third and sixth month than relapsed back to smoking.
Compared to those who primarily used Virginia tobacco-flavored JUULpods, those who primarily used mint- or mango-flavored JUULpods were 45% and 39% more likely, respectively, to have not smoked a cigarette in the 30 days prior to the 6-month assessment.
Compared to those who indicated they did not purchase their first JUUL Starter Kit “to help to quit smoking cigarettes completely,” those who reported having purchased their first JUUL Starter Kit “to help to quit smoking cigarettes completely” were 46% more likely to have abstained from smoking in the 30 days prior to the 6-month assessment.
Those who purchased their first JUUL Starter Kit in a retail store were 22% more likely to have abstained from smoking in the 30 days prior to the 6-month assessment.
Heaviness, frequency, and lifetime duration of cigarette smoking at the time of first purchase of a JUUL Starter Kit were all negatively associated with participants’ odds of reporting past 30-day smoking abstinence at the 6-month assessment.
If switching completely from smoking cigarettes to using JUUL vaping products specifically is demonstrated to reduce adult smokers’ risks for premature mortality and smoking-related disease then these observed quitting rates have significant public health implications.
Read the full study here.
Smoking Cessation Rates after 3- and 6-Month JUUL use by Sample and Place of Purchase
Findings:
- Roughly one-third of smokers enrolled in a large sample and one-half of smokers who responded reported that they had achieved at least 30 days of smoking abstinence after using a JUUL e-cigarette for 6 months.
- Those who primarily used mint- or mango-flavored JUULpods were 45% and 39% more likely, respectively, to have not smoked a cigarette in the 30 days prior to the 6-month assessment.
- Those who purchased their first JUUL Starter Kit in a retail store were 22% more likely to have abstained from smoking in the 30 days prior to the 6-month assessment.
Read the full study here.
