PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Linnea Hedman AU - Helena Backman AU - Caroline Stridsman AU - Anne Lindberg AU - Eva Rönmark TI - Most users quit e-cigarettes without succeeding to quit smoking AID - 10.1183/13993003.congress-2021.OA2583 DP - 2021 Sep 05 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - OA2583 VI - 58 IP - suppl 65 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/58/suppl_65/OA2583.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/58/suppl_65/OA2583.full SO - Eur Respir J2021 Sep 05; 58 AB - Background: Whether e-cigarette use contributes to successful smoking cessation remains controversial.Aim: To study e-cigarette (EC) initiation and quitting in relation to smoking habits in a longitudinal study.Method: Within the Obstructive Lung Disease in Northern Sweden (OLIN) studies, 168 individuals reported EC use in a postal questionnaire survey (PQ) about respiratory health in 2016. In 2020, these individuals were invited to telephone interviews and 63 (38%) participated (52% women, 20-77y, mean 44y). Information about past and current EC, tobacco and other nicotine product use were collected and reasons for initiating or quitting EC recorded.Results: In the PQ, 5 (8%) of the EC users were non-smokers, 19 (30%) former smokers, and 39 (62%) smokers. At follow-up, 9 (15%) used EC daily, 22 (33%) occasionally, and 32 (52%) had quit. Of the 9 daily EC users, 1 was a smoker while 8 were former smokers, whereof 6 were former smokers also in the PQ. Of the 32 that quit EC, 15 (47%) were still smokers, 8 (25%) had quit smoking since the PQ, and 1 had re-started smoking. The most common reason for EC initiation was to quit smoking (n=32; whereof 16 former smokers and 16 still smokers) followed by curiosity (n=17), being less harmful than cigarettes (n=14), recommended by friends (n=11), and to reduce the number of cigarettes/day (n=10). The most common reasons to quit EC was trouble with the device (n=13), fear of health effects (n=9), did not want to use them anymore (n=9), and did not help them quit smoking (n=6).Conclusion: In this 4-year follow-up of EC users, more than half had quit using EC but without succeeding to quit smoking.FootnotesCite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2021; 58: Suppl. 65, OA2583.This abstract was presented at the 2021 ERS International Congress, in session “Prediction of exacerbations in patients with COPD”.This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).