Withdrawal symptoms from E-cigarette abstinence among adult never-smokers: a pilot experimental study
Open accessAbstract
Introduction: Use of e-cigarettes among never-smokers has substantially increased; yet there are few descriptions of the consequences of such use. We assessed whether adult never-smokers can have withdrawal from cessation of e-cigarettes. Methods: In an un-blinded pre-post clinical trial, 30 never-smoker daily e-cigarette users used their own nicotine-containing e-cigarette for 7 days followed by 6 days of biologically confirmed abstinence. Participants monitored symptoms of nicotine withdrawal nightly via an Interactive Voice Response system. They attended three lab visits/week to provide expired carbon monoxide and urine samples to determine compliance. Findings: Abstinence increased all the DSM5 symptoms of tobacco withdrawal and this occurred in the majority of participants. The increase in severity of withdrawal was small and rarely impaired functioning. Conclusions: Our finding suggests that withdrawal symptoms can occur in never-smokers who stop e-cigarettes abruptly. However, the severity of withdrawal appears to be small and may not be of clinical or regulatory significance. Although our sample size was small and thus replication tests of our results are indicated, it may be prudent to warn never-smokers that withdrawal symptoms may occur. Implications: This study indicates that withdrawal symptoms can occur in never-smokers who are daily e-cigarette users. However, the severity of withdrawal from e-cigarette abstinence in never-smokers appears to be small and may not be of clinical or regulatory significance. Given our small sample size, replication of our results is warranted. Nevertheless, it might be prudent to warn never-smokers of addiction to e-cigarettes. Clinical Trial Registration = NCT02825459
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Research on e-cigarette withdrawal is limited, but recent analysis of the US Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Survey and a clinical trial indicated that withdrawal symptoms were mild in never smokers.
“There is limited research on withdrawal from e-cigarettes, but recent analysis of the US Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Survey and a clinical trial by the same investgators indicated that withdrawal symptoms were mild in never smokers (Hughes & Callas, 2019; Hughes et al., 2020)”
From Unique, long-term effects of nicotine on adolescent brain. (2020) · cites this paper as Hughes et al., 2020
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Unique, long-term effects of nicotine on adolescent brain.
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“There is limited research on withdrawal from e-cigarettes, but recent analysis of the US Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Survey and a clinical trial by the same investgators indicated that withdrawal symptoms were mild in never smokers (Hughes & Callas, 2019; Hughes et al., 2020), whereas another study of…”
- Authors
- Hughes, J. R., Peters, E. N., Callas, P. W., Peasley-Miklus, C., Oga, E., Etter, J.-F., & Morley, N.
- Affiliations
- University of Vermont (US)
- Battelle (US)
- Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, Vermont Center for Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
- Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Corresponding author
- Hughes, John R
- Venue
- Nicotine & Tobacco Research
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2019-09-03
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 740-746
- ISSN
- 1462-2203 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-994X
- PMC
- PMC7171287
- OpenAlex
- W2971730810
- Cited by
- 10
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 1.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model (vor)
- Locations
- Nicotine & Tobacco Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Archive ouverte UNIGE (University of Geneva) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Archive ouverte UNIGE (University of Geneva) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- National Cancer Institute (CA-192940)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Smoking Behavior and Cessation
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects
- Keywords
- electronic cigarettes, never smokers, nicotine withdrawal, abstinence, e-cigarette cessation, withdrawal symptoms, nicotine dependence, expired carbon monoxide, interactive voice response
- MeSH terms
- Smokers, Adult, Carbon Monoxide, Female, Humans, Male, Pilot Projects, Substance Withdrawal Syndrome, United States, Health Behavior, Smoking Cessation, Behavior, Addictive, Young Adult, Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems
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