There are 46 million people (20.6 percent of all adults) who smoke in the United States. For the first time, the number of former smokers now outnumbers those who do smoke. Smoking rates dropped more than half between 1965 and 2004 (from 42.4 percent to 20.9). About 14 out of 100 New Yorkers are smoking which is a 35 percent decline from 2002 (approximately 450,000 fewer adults smoking). This is a clear indication that americans want to quit smoking.

Broken Confidence

Many people struggle for years to quit. Some say it is the hardest thing they have ever done, even with the aid of patches, gums, therapy and counseling. Not being able to quit is compromising the health of these people who want so desperately to quit.

Not only is smoking compromising their health, but the stress and emotional despair is also taking its toll. Many people having trouble quitting simply believe “some people just can't quit,” and this broken confidence is preventing the ability to quit. There is such a complex biology with addiction and withdrawal that is physical and psychological and it is taxing to the individual. It undermines the smokers self-confidence and destroys the confidence needed to quit.

A new form of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) on the market, the electronic cigarette is going head to head with cessation products such as nicotine patches and gums. E-cigarettes are still heavily under-studied but are gaining some headway with those who just can't seem to quit.

BMC Public Health

A recent study by BMC Public Health done in 2011 on the Effects of an Electronic Nicotine Delivery Device (e-cigarette) on Smoking Reduction and Cessation has been widely praised by the “vaping” community. It found that: "Sustained smoking abstinence at week 24 was observed in 9/40 (22.5 percent) participants, with 6/9 still using the e-cigarette by the end of the study." Participants with a history of alcohol and illicit drug user were excluded, as were those with major depression and other psychiatric conditions were excluded from the study. Smokers who had a wide variety of smoking-caused medical problems were also left out of the study.

More Likely to Succeed

Smokers who choose to use an electronic cigarette to quit smoking are more likely to succeed in their journey to quit. Smokers tend to take to electronic cigarettes more readily than other cessation devices because inhaling nicotine vapor is more pleasurable and rewarding than chewing gum or going to therapy. This bodes well for those who's confidence has been broken by many failed attempts to quit.