By Joseph Magero
Smokers who use nicotine vapes are up to 67% MORE LIKELY TO QUIT than those using traditional nicotine-replacement therapy and TWICE AS LIKELY to succeed as people trying to quit ‘cold turkey’, according to the world’s leading authority on medical evidence.
The Cochrane report, published last week, provides real-world proof that should guide Kenya’s lawmakers as they consider the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, says the Campaign for Safer Alternatives (CASA).
Cochrane, widely regarded as the gold standard of scientific reviews, examined 80 completed studies involving 29,861 participants. It found “high-certainty evidence” that nicotine vapes increase quit rates compared with nicotine-replacement therapies (NRTs), such as patches, lozenges or gum.
For every 100 people using nicotine vapes to stop smoking, between eight and 10 are likely to succeed. That compares with six using NRTs, six using nicotine-free vapes and five receiving behavioural support alone or no support.
CASA chairman Joseph Magero said: “This rigorous assessment by one of the world’s most trusted medical research organisations provides clear proof that nicotine vapes help significantly more smokers quit.
“Kenya’s lawmakers should now follow the evidence and give smokers a better chance of escaping cigarettes. Government risks a public health disaster if it simply presses on with imposing rules that make the alternatives harder to find, harder to afford and less appealing to use.”
The Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill proposes strict new controls on safer nicotine alternatives, including vapes and nicotine pouches. These include a de facto ban on flavours, new packaging rules and limits on nicotine content.
CASA warns that applying cigarette-style restrictions without recognising differences in risk could make these products less accessible, less affordable and less acceptable to adult smokers seeking to quit.
Magero said: “CASA fully supports strong age restrictions, responsible marketing and enforceable product standards. Children must be protected. But protecting young people does not require denying adults access to products that can help them stop smoking.
“Legislation should distinguish clearly between combustible cigarettes and smoke-free nicotine products, with regulation proportionate to the risk of each product.”
A recent survey conducted by CASA found that half of Kenyan consumers who use nicotine pouches and vapes say the products help them quit smoking, while nearly one in three say they would return to cigarettes if flavoured products were banned.
Magero added: “Treating safer alternatives like cigarettes ignores the central reason smoking is so deadly: combustion. When tobacco burns, it produces the toxic smoke that causes disease and death. Vapes and pouches deliver nicotine without burning tobacco and are now proven to help more smokers quit.
“If Kenya makes safer alternatives unaffordable or strips away the features that encourage smokers to switch, cigarettes will remain the easiest option to obtain and the hardest habit to escape. That would protect the cigarette market, not public health.”
The Campaign for Safer Alternatives advocates for evidence-based tobacco harm reduction policies that protect young people while ensuring adults who smoke can access safer, regulated alternatives to combustible cigarettes.
