Vaping is a highly effective way to quit smoking, but many long-time vapers will be surprised to learn that their vaping frequency is much lower than when they were smoking. Do you vape first thing in the morning? How many times a day can you use your vape mod? Do you vape the same number of times when you’re sick? Now compare your current vaping frequency to your previous cigarette usage. Which is higher?
The Fagerström test only takes a few minutes. It consists of six easy questions, and each answer is measured numerically. If the total is above a certain threshold, it means your nicotine dependence is relatively high. Answer one question based on your current vaping lifestyle, and a second based on how long you’ve smoked before.
Vape Research by Etter Eissenberg
A group of French addiction researchers used the Fagerström Test as a tool in a recent study of dependence on vaping compared to smoking and other nicotine-cessation methods such as nicotine gum. Co-authors Jean-Francois Etter of the University of Geneva in Switzerland and Thomas Eissenberg of the University of Virginia School of Public Health in Richmond found that vapers were significantly less dependent on e-cigarettes than smokers or users of nicotine gum.
“The dependence rate was only slightly higher for nicotine e-cigarette users than for non-nicotine vapers. Among former smokers who switched to vaping, those who vaped for three months or more had lower dependence rates than those who used nicotine gum. There was little difference in dependence rates between short-term e-cigarette and gum users. Those who used e-cigarettes and gum had lower dependence rates than regular cigarette users.”
“Some vapers are quite dependent on e-cigarettes that contain nicotine, but these products are less addictive than cigarettes. E-cigarettes are less addictive than or equal to nicotine gum, and they themselves do not have the potential to be highly addictive.”
The Etter-Eissenberg study looked at dependence rates among users of e-cigarettes, nicotine gum, and cigarettes(1). The results can be found on the Drug and Alcohol Dependence website. The researchers began by surveying hundreds of participants, including vapers, smokers, gum users, dual users, and even vapers who used nicotine-free vapes.
The results showed that regular vapers who had been using the device for three months or more were less dependent on the device than smokers who had quit using nicotine gum. Meanwhile, the dependence rate of nicotine gum users remained relatively high even after many months of use. As for vapers, the longer they used it, the less they vaped.
The study also suggests that vapers who use e-liquids with a trace of nicotine are more dependent on them than those who don’t. In short, the study suggests that the more vapers stay away from cigarettes, the less they vape, and that vaping is less addictive than nicotine gum and smoking.
Source: Vapes.com
(1): Dependence levels in users of electronic cigarettes, nicotine gums and tobacco cigarettes
Translated by: The Vape Club
