People who smoke are increasingly using e-cigarettes to try to quit smoking, a study by researchers at the University of Otago, Wellington, has found.

The researchers found that between 2016 and 2018 the level of awareness, as well as the use of e-cigarettes, increased among smokers and those who had recently quit smoking. The principal investigator of the study, Professor Richard Edwards from the University’s Department of Public Health, says e-cigarette use was most common among those aged 18-24 years and among those who had recently quit smoking.