Could e-cigarettes be the gateway out of smoking traditional combustible cigarettes?
According to a study conducted by JUUL Labs, a maker of vape pens, a hefty 44 percent of adult smokers in California using the company’s products said they gave up smoking traditional cigarettes after 90 days.
The company surveyed 1,273 adult smokers living in California over age 21, according to a March 25 press release from JUUL.
"We are encouraged by these study results which demonstrate the potential for JUUL products to provide California's smokers with a true alternative to combustible cigarettes," said Erik Augustson, senior director of behavioral research.
On its website, JUUL positions itself as a company committed to reducing smoking, calling its products “a satisfying alternative to cigarettes” aimed at improving “the lives of the world's one billion adult smokers by eliminating [traditional] cigarettes.”
However, the study only showed a reduction in smoking combustible cigarettes, rather than quitting nicotine consumption completely. JUUL pods — the refillable component in the JUUL vaping device — still contain plain or flavored nicotine.
Augustson said in the release research is ongoing into the impact flavor has on whether smokers give up traditional cigarettes in favor of JUUL pods.
"Study findings indicate flavors may play an important role, as reflected in recent results indicating those participants who exclusively use non-tobacco flavors are 30 percent more likely to switch than those who exclusively use tobacco flavors,” Augustson said.
