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A major new study provides the strongest evidence yet that vaping can help smokers quit cigarettes, with e-cigarettes proving nearly twice as effective as nicotine gums and patches. The British research, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, could influence what doctors tell their patients and shape the debate in the U.S., where the Food and Drug Administration has come under pressure to more tightly regulate the burgeoning industry amid a surge in teenage vaping. (1/30)

People who use vaping to quit smoking have milder cravings, he says. They also get pleasure from the act of vaping, which may contribute to its success as a tobacco-quitting aid. And over time, many people gradually reduce the dose of nicotine they are receiving through these devices, Hajek says, so that makes it easier for people who want to quit vaping. (Harris, 1/30)

The success rate was still low — 18 percent among the e-cigarette group, compared to 9.9 percent among those using traditional nicotine replacement therapy — but many researchers who study tobacco and nicotine said it gave them the clear evidence they had been looking for. “This is a seminal study,” said Dr. Neal L. Benowitz, chief of clinical pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco, an expert in nicotine absorption and tobacco-related illnesses, who was not involved in the project. “It is so important to the field.” (Hoffman, 1/30)

But two editorials in the same publication threw some cold water on the trial’s results. One editorial, by Boston University researchers, said e-cigarettes should be used only when Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments do not work. Those approved therapies, as well as drugs such as bupropion, have higher effectiveness rates than the new study suggested, and much more is known about their side effects, said Belinda Borrelli, a Boston University researcher who co-wrote the editorial. She noted e-cigarettes pose some serious risks, including potential harm to the lungs caused by flavorings — as well as the possibility that some people will end up using both regular cigarettes and the electronic versions. (McGinley, 1/30)

The use of e-cigarettes is associated with an increased risk of heart attack, heart disease and stroke, according to research that is scheduled to be presented Feb. 6 at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in Honolulu. Concern around the health effects of e-cigarette use has grown in recent years, fueled by a surge in their popularity and a belief that they're safe alternatives to normal cigarettes. (Lambert, 1/30)

In November, the Food and Drug Administration announced it would seek a nationwide ban on menthol cigarettes, and placed restrictions on the sale of e-flavored cigarettes. Also in November, the administration of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said it would seek to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. The rate of youth cigarette use in New York City dropped from 18% in 2001 to 5% in 2017, according to Oxiris Barbot, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. (West, 1/30)

The federal government is failing to protect children from the dangers of electronic cigarettes, according to an American Lung Association report card published Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received an “F” from the group's 17th annual State of Tobacco Control. The FDA has taken some initial steps, but “continued to avoid meaningful action” on vaping products, the association said. (Weixel, 1/30)