Doctor applauds task force’s stance against using e-cigarettes for quitting smoking – CTV
August 25, 2025
A recent guideline by the Canadian Task Force on Preventative Health Care published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal recommends against using e-cigarettes as a first option for quitting smoking.
Instead of using e-cigarettes as a first-line approach to quitting smoking, the task force recommends using other approved behavioural, pharmacotherapy, or combined interventions that have proven benefits.
Some of the recommended interventions include individual and group counselling or medications like bupropion, cytisine, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) or varenicline, according to the task force.
“We have so many better options at our disposal that have been well studied in comparison to vaping,” Dr. Eddy Lang, a member of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care and a professor and senior researcher for emergency medicine at the University of Calgary told CTV News Channel on Monday.
“We lack the long-term data on the safety of e-cigarettes.”
Although the task force recommends against using e-cigarettes as a first-option to quitting smoking, the recommendation states that individuals can discuss using e-cigarettes with a health-care provider as an option if they were unsuccessful with, or unwilling to try, other interventions.
