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A new study by Queen Mary University of London has found that e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking even without ongoing behavioral support.

The randomized controlled trial, published in NEJM Evidence and involving 1,170 adults given e-cigarettes, found that 11.3% of participants given e-cigarettes alone successfully quit smoking for six months, compared with 6.4% of those who received automated NHS stop-smoking messages—making them 76% more likely to quit.

Adding telephone-based behavioral support nearly doubled quit rates. Among participants receiving e-cigarettes alongside counseling, 21.1% successfully stopped smoking for six months, compared with 11.3% receiving e-cigarettes alone.

Previous research has established that e-cigarettes can help smokers quit, but most clinical trials have provided them alongside ongoing behavioral support. This study addresses an important unanswered question: whether e-cigarettes remain effective when specialist counseling is unavailable or unwanted, and how much additional benefit counseling provides.

Participants were randomly assigned to receive automated NHS stop-smoking emails, an e-cigarette starter pack alone, or an e-cigarette starter pack alongside telephone counseling. Those receiving additional support were offered five telephone sessions over four weeks. Quitting was verified using carbon monoxide breath tests.

The researchers also found that more than two-thirds of participants who successfully quit in the NHS supportive messages group were using e-cigarettes at six months. 7%.

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