Smoking Cessation with E-Cigarettes in Smokers with a Documented History of Depression and Recurring Relapses

Pasquale Caponnetto, Riccardo Polosa, Roberta Auditore, Cristina Russo, Davide Campagna

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DOI: 10.4236/ijcm.2011.23046                

Abstract

The association between nicotine dependence and affective disorders, particularly major depressive disorder (MDD), is well known with high prevalence rates being reported for smokers. The reason for this association is not clear, but, it has been argued that smoking may help individuals to cope with stress or medicate depressed mood. Smoking cessation programs are useful in helping smokers to quit, but smoking is a very difficult addiction to break, especially for people suffering from depression, and the need for novel and effective approaches to smoking cessation interventions for this special population is unquestionable. The e-cigarette is a battery-powered electronic nicotine delivery device (ENDD), which may help smokers to remain abstinent during their quit attempt. Here, we report for the first time objective measures of smoking cessation in two heavy smokers, suffering from depression, who experimented the e-cigarette.

Keywords

Smoking Cessation; Depression, Electronic Cigarette, Cigarette Smoking

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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