The medical-industrial complex loves its FDA-approved gums and patches, yet real-world evidence shows vaping annihilates traditional nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in smoking cessation efficacy. Consider just some of the evidence.
Vaping Helps More Smokers Quit
A just-published clinical trial in Annals of Internal Medicine found that vaping helped 28% of smokers quit cigarettes compared to just 9% of those who used NRT. Likewise, a 2019 New England Journal of Medicine randomized controlled trial found e-cigarettes achieved 18.0% abstinence at one year versus 9.9% for NRT.
Population-level data reinforces vaping’s triumph. More than 50,000 people in England have quit thanks to vaping. Meanwhile in France, a staggering 700,000 people say vaping allowed them to abandon cigarettes forever.This isn’t marginal superiority—it’s domination.
The mechanism explains this impressive track record: vaping replicates both nicotine delivery and behavioral rituals crucial for successful switching. Behavioral psychology research demonstrates that maintaining hand-to-mouth actions and inhalation rituals increases cessation rates versus gum-chewing.
Vaping is Safer
Safety profiles favor vaping by orders of magnitude. Public Health England’s 2022 evidence update confirms vaping poses “at least 95% less harm” than smoking, while NRT’s long-term adherence creates persistent nicotine dependence without addressing behavioral addiction. The Cochrane Review (2023) synthesized 78 trials and concluded “high-certainty evidence” that vaping increases quit rates without serious adverse events, whereas NRT users frequently relapse due to inadequate craving suppression. Simply put, NRT often encourages smoking where vaping cuts or eliminates cigarette consumption.
Critics cite dual-use concerns—smoking and vaping simultaneously increases health risks, the argument goes. Yet dual use almost always means that smokers are replacing at least some of their smoking with vaping, meaning they are partially substituting a very dangerous for a much less dangerous habit. This is a net positive, just like when a dieter replaces some candy in their diet with vegetables. Smokers don’t need to achieve abstinence to improve their health.
Conclusion
The evidence isn’t close. Vaping delivers nicotine more effectively, maintains critical behavioral components, and achieves abstinence rates that make NRT look like a glorified placebo. Public health bureaucrats pushing pharmaceutical patches over vapes are condemning smokers to continued combustible use. The verdict is in: vape beats gum, every single time.
