Vaping high-strength nicotine is said to help adults, along with those suffering from schizophrenia, to stop smoking conventional cigarettes, a recent study finds.
Stopping Heavy Smoking With Vape
Switching to vape products like the Yocan Vaporizer has been documented to help smokers quit. One prevalent recent study showing this benefit of vaping comes from the King’s College London. The study published on March 9, 2021, shows the effectiveness of using vape and e-cigarettes for quitting smoking among adults in the UK, compared to other cessation methods like nicotine replacement therapy.
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Also, according to a study made by the Public Health England (PHE), nicotine vaping devices were the most popular aid used by smokers who want to quit smoking in 2020. The use of vaping products has some of the highest quit success rate— from 59.7% in 2019 to 74% in 2020.
In addition, a recent study also shows how people suffering from schizophrenia can stop smoking with the help of vaping products.
The study demonstrated that switching to a high-strength nicotine e-cigarette can be an effective method for smoking cessation for people with schizophrenia.
For the study, the researchers determined and analyzed the effects of vaping high-strength nicotine in forty (40) adults suffering from schizophrenia. All study participants smoked traditional cigarettes and had no plans of quitting or cutting back.
For 12 weeks, the participants used vapes loaded with 5% nicotine pods. After 12 weeks, 40% had stopped relying on and using traditional cigarettes. Also, 9 out of 10 had a sustained 50% reduction in traditional smoking or completely quitted. Meanwhile, the median traditional cigarette use dropped from 25 to only 6 cigarette sticks a day.
The study also shows that after 6 months, 35% of the participants had stopped smoking traditional cigarettes and continued with vaping. Meanwhile, 57.5% already reduced their traditional cigarette use by over half.
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Other than smoking cessation, researchers also saw an increase in the participant’s quality of life. The results showed a dropped in the average blood pressure, weight, and heart rate of participants over the first 12 weeks. And by the end of the study period, almost 62% of participants said that they felt less irritable and hungry while more awake and have better concentration and focus.
Schizophrenia and Smoking
Schizophrenia is a psychological disorder that affects less than 1% of the US population. When active, its symptoms can include hallucinations, delusions, trouble with thinking, disorganized speech, and lack of motivation.
In terms of smoking, research revealed over 60% of individuals with schizophrenia are current smokers, compared to only 15% – 24% of the general population. This contributed to the excessive mortality rate in this population. The reasons for such high rate of both smoking prevalence and the heavy smoking of patients with schizophrenia are thought to be at least partially connected to the enhancement of the brain’s dopaminergic activity. This results in behavioral reinforcement due to the stimulant effects.
It has been suggested that smoking can be an attempt by those suffering from schizophrenia to alleviate their cognitive deficits and reducing the extrapyramidal side effects caused by antipsychotic drugs.
