OKLAHOMA CITY, O.K. — Today, the American Vaping Association, a leading advocate for the benefits of vapor products such as electronic cigarettes, reacted to the release of new survey data from the University of Oklahoma’s Tobacco Research Center on the use of vapor products by Oklahoma smokers. The survey reports that among 919 adult smokers who had either quit smoking or tried to quit in the prior year, more than one-third used a vapor product. This makes vaping the most commonly used smoking cessation method among Oklahoma smokers.
“In a state with sky high smoking rates like Oklahoma, the growing use of vapor products by adult smokers looking to quit should be met with optimism,” said Gregory Conley, President of the American Vaping Association. “These tobacco-free and smoke-free products offer a new hope to smokers, particularly those who have tried and failed to quit multiple times in the past.”
Specifically, in comparison to the 36.7% of respondents who reported using vapor products in a quit attempt, 21.5% reported using multiple methods that did not include vaping, 16.5% reported use of no method, and just 3.2% and 0.32% solely used the nicotine patch or a telephone quitline, respectively. The authors conclude that Oklahoma smokers and recent former smokers are more likely to use vapor products than they are FDA-approved methods like the patch, gum, and Chantix when trying to quit.
“Evidence continues to accumulate that adults find vapor products useful in quitting smoking. An estimated three to four million Americans now no longer regularly smoke thanks to vapor products,” added Conley. “For the betterment of public health in Oklahoma, policymakers and health officials should reexamine their stance on the adult use of vapor products, especially by those looking to quit.”
The study was presented last week at the annual conference of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The data was collected in 2013 through Oklahoma’s annual Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). This is the first time that the Oklahoma BRFSS has asked questions about the use of vapor products for smoking cessation. (For details of the study, see POS4-143 on page 332 of this abstract collection)
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You can learn more about AVA and vaping by visiting the AVA website.
About the American Vaping Association
The American Vaping Association is a nonprofit organization that advocates for fair and sensible regulation of vapor products, otherwise known as electronic cigarettes, with the goal of maximizing the number of adult smokers who use these products to quit smoking. The AVA was founded by Gregory Conley, a consumer and industry advocate with a long track record of advocating for vapor products dating back to 2010.
We are dedicated to educating the public and government officials about public health benefits offered by vapor products, which are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid nicotine or nicotine-free solution and create an inhalable vapor. The AVA is not a trade group and does not speak for any particular businesses, including our industry sponsors.
You can learn more about AVA and vaping by visiting the AVA website. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.
