Among cancer patients who smoke, those who use e-cigarettes (as well as regular tobacco cigarettes) are equally or less likely to quit smoking, compared to non-users. Such findings cause skepticism regarding the possible advantages of using e-cigarettes instead of traditional ones for helping cancer patients quit the habit.

E-cigarettes – or electronic cigarettes – are devices that exude doses of vaporized nicotine, which the user then inhales. The device can also emit non-nicotine vaporized solutions.

Cancer patients are advised to quit smoking in order to help improve their overall health. However, the use of e-cigarettes has raised concerns among patients and their physicians, including whether or not this alternative is helpful in smoking cessation.

Jamie Ostroff, PhD, of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and her colleagues sought to analyze clinical data regarding e-cigarette use and cessation of smoking among cancer patients.

The researchers looked at 1074 cancer patients who smoked, and were part of tobacco treatment program between 2012 and 2013. They discovered a three-fold increase in e-cigarette use during this time frame. At enrolment, e-cigarette users were more dependent on nicotine than non-users, and were more likely to be diagnosed with cancer of the lung or head and neck. When followed up on, e-cigarette users were equally as likely as non-users to continue smoking.

“Consistent with recent observations of increased e-cigarette use in the general population, our findings illustrate that e-cigarette use among tobacco-dependent cancer patients has increased within the past two years,” said Dr. Ostroff in a statement.

The findings of the study are published online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.