cigarettes other names A group of seven no-name brand, generic isolated against a white background Stock Photo CARTON OF CIGARETTES Synonyms: 30

Nicotine reaches the brain within seconds and activates reward systems linked with dopamine, a chemical associated with pleasure and motivation

Beyond lung damage smoking can cause heart disease, liver disease, mouth cancer and more

Gentzke, Benjamin J

TUESDAY, April 7, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Smokers using nicotine electronic cigarettes (ECs) are more likely to quit than those using most other methods, according to a review published online March 26 in Addiction.Angela Difeng Wu, D.Phil., from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and colleagues synthesized existing evidence from systematic reviews on the effectiveness and safety of ECs to explore whether benefits outweigh potential harms.Based on 14 reviews of intervention studies (seven high-quality), the researchers found that of 21 meta-analytic comparisons of nicotine EC versus other interventions, all reported point estimates favoring nicotine EC for smoking cessation, with relative risks or odds ratios ranging from 1.17 to 1.67 versus nicotine replacement therapy and 1.46 to 2.09 versus non-nicotine EC