6 million Europeans have quit smoking with e-cigarette use

London

In addition, the researchers found that use of e-cigaretteshas helped more than nine million Europeans to cut smoking consumption.

"These are probably the highest rates of smoking cessation and reductionever observed in such a large population study," said principalinvestigator of the study Konstantinos Farsalinos from University of Patras,Rio, Greece.

For the study, the researchers analysed the data from the 2014 Eurobarometer onsmoking and the use of the electronic cigarettes among a representative sampleof 27,460 Europeans.

Eurobarometer is a survey performed by the European Commission, assessing,among others, smoking and electronic cigarette use patterns in all 28 memberstates of the European Union.

The study, accepted for publication in the journal Addiction, also found thatthe use e-cigarettes has largely been confined to smokers, with minimal use bynon-smokers.

"The European Union data show that the use of electronic cigarettes seemsto have a positive impact on public health for two main reasons -- high smokingcessation and reduction rates are observed, and electronic cigarette use islargely confined to smokers (current and former), with minimal use bynon-smokers," Farsalinos noted.

There is a lot of controversy over the use of the electronic cigarettes bynon-smokers, but researchers appeared reassuring.

Just 1.3 per cent of non-smokers reported current use of nicotine-containingelectronic cigarettes and 0.09 per cent reported daily use, the study said.