ACC House Call: Bettering Smoking Cessation Research, Practice

The clinical discussion as to whether electronic cigarette devices has already begun. But debate still wages on the parameters of that investigative pursuit—are they safer than combustible cigarettes? Do health outcomes differ among devices? Is a distinct benefit between nicotine cigarettes and nicotine e-cigarettes, or is it a trade-off?

Such questions were posed by Martha Gulati, MD, MS, of the Banner —University Medicine Heart Institute, on the 12-week results of the randomized, controlled trial comparing nicotine and non-nicotine e-cigarettes in combination with counseling for smoking cessation.

The findings, presented virtually at ACC.20 Together with Word Congress of Cardiology (ACC/WCC) Scientific Sessions, showed nicotine vaping plus counseling aided patients in 12-week cessation more so than counseling.

In an interview with HCPLive®, Gulati challenged some particularities of the short-term findings, and the overall concept of non-regulated e-cigarettes serving as a replacement to combustible cigarettes in cardiovascular-risk patients.

“It’s one thing in a study if this works, but it’s another thing how you implement this,” Gulati said. “Even if you want people to quit smoking, if you can’t provide the services, you’ve got to figure out how to work with your systems.”

Gulati also shared perspective on the effect of cigarette smoking on cardiovascular health in the US, and what it takes to manage a smoking patient trying to quit.