Since coming on the market over a decade ago, e-cigarettes have divided opinion. A team of Oxford researchers are searching for new e-cigarette studies every month. In this podcast series, Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Dr Nicola Lindson talk about what has been found, and how this changes what we know about e-cigarettes.
This podcast is made possible through generous funding from Cancer Research UK.
Art work by Olivia Barratier.
Produced by Dr Ailsa Butler.
Stefanie Gratale, Let's talk e-cigarettes, July 2026
Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Nicola Lindson discuss emerging evidence in e-cigarette research and interview Stefanie Gratale, Rutgers School of Public Health, USA. Associate Professor Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Associate Professor Nicola Lindson discuss the new evidence in e-cigarette research and interview Dr Stefanie Gratale, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Behavior, Society and Policy at the Rutgers School of Public Health and core member of the Rutgers Institute for Nicotine & Tobacco Studies (USA).
In this episode, Dr Stefanie Gratale talks to Jamie Hartmann-Boyce from the Summer 2026 NIH Tobacco Regulatory Science (TRS) Meeting in Bethesda, Maryland, where she presented findings from her team's research on the evolution of ‘natural’ tobacco marketing and how it shapes young people's perceptions of tobacco and nicotine products. Drawing on focus groups with adolescents and young adults, Stefanie discusses comparative risk perceptions and interest in products marketed as ‘cleaner’, including combustible tobacco, e-cigarettes, and nicotine pouches. Her talk at the meeting was entitled: ‘It’s not as good for you vs. stuff that’s coming out the ground’. In the interview Stefanie highlights how tobacco companies use terms such as ‘tobacco’ and ‘water’ to imply that their products are more natural. The focus group findings revealed a concerning misperception: many young people viewed cigarettes as healthier and less harmful than e-cigarettes because tobacco is a plant, whereas e-cigarettes were perceived to contain artificial ingredients. Marketing and broader communication may be contributing to these inaccurate beliefs about the relative harms of tobacco and nicotine products. Stefanie stressed the importance of accurate messaging and communication and plans to look at corrective messaging in future research work.
This podcast is a companion to the electronic cigarettes Cochrane living systematic review and Interventions for quitting vaping review and shares the evidence from the monthly searches.
Our searches for the EC for smoking cessation review carried out on 1st July 2026 found: 1 new ongoing studies (NCT05206435) and 2 linked reports (10.1016/j.conctc.2026.101652; 10.1016/j.addbeh.2026.108772).
Our search for our interventions for quitting vaping review carried out on 1st July 2026 found: 1 new study (NCT05423340) and 2 new ongoing studies (NCT07038317; NCT07624292).
For further details see our webpage under 'Monthly search findings': https://www.cebm.ox.ac.uk/research/electronic-cigarettes-for-smoking-cessation-cochrane-living-systematic-review-1
For more information on the full Cochrane review of E-cigarettes for smoking cessation updated in November 2025 see: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010216.pub10/full
For more information on the full Cochrane review of Interventions for quitting vaping published in November 2025 see: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD016058.pub3/full
1 Jul 2026
Jessica Yingst, Let's talk e-cigarettes, June 2026
Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Nicola Lindson discuss emerging evidence in e-cigarette research and interview Jessica Yingst, Penn State Center for Research on Tobacco and Health, USA. Associate Professor Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Associate Professor Nicola Lindson discuss the new evidence in e-cigarette research and interview Dr Jessica Yingst. Dr Jessica Yingst is a member of the Penn State Center for Research on Tobacco and Health and is the co-director of the Career Enhancement Core with the Penn State Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science otherwise known as a TCORS. Jessica Yingst is a public health researcher focused on understanding methods to reduce harms associated with tobacco use.
In the June podcast Jessica Yingst shares the findings of their randomised clinical trial comparing standardized research e-cigarette (SREC) with 5% nicotine or 0%. Their study explored toxicant exposures after switching from cigarettes to a pod-based electronic cigarette. They wanted to determine the short-term effects of switching from cigarettes to a pod-based 5% nicotine e-cigarette, compared with a 0% nicotine e-cigarette. Their study found that participants who switched from cigarettes to a 5% nicotine SREC experienced reduced exposure to several tobacco-related toxicants and higher rates of cigarette abstinence than those who switched to a 0% nicotine SREC. Their findings suggest that e-cigarettes delivering nicotine at levels comparable to conventional cigarettes may play an important role in reducing exposure to harmful smoking-related toxicants while supporting complete smoking cessation.
This podcast is a companion to the electronic cigarettes Cochrane living systematic review and Interventions for quitting vaping review and shares the evidence from the monthly searches.
Our searches for the EC for smoking cessation review carried out on 1st June 2026 found: 3 new ongoing studies (NCT07039292, NCT07598136, NCT07199517) and 3 linked reports (10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.13292 (discussed in this podcast), 10.18332/tid/218987, 10.1111/add.70421).
Our search for our interventions for quitting vaping review carried out on 1st June 2026 found: 5 new ongoing studies (ACTRN12626000548336, NCT05037656, NCT07593742, 10.1186/s12889-026-27567-y, 10.1038/s41598-026-45720-w).
For further details see our webpage under 'Monthly search findings':
https://www.cebm.ox.ac.uk/research/electronic-cigarettes-for-smoking-cessation-cochrane-living-systematic-review-1
For more information on the full Cochrane review of E-cigarettes for smoking cessation updated in November 2025 see: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010216.pub10/full
For more information on the full Cochrane review of Interventions for quitting vaping published in November 2025 see: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD016058.pub3/full
28 May 2026
Jonathan Livingstone-Banks, Let's talk e-cigarettes, May 2026
Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Nicola Lindson discuss emerging evidence in e-cigarette research and interview Jonathan Livingstone-Banks, University of Oxford, UK. Associate Professor Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Associate Professor Nicola Lindson discuss the new evidence in e-cigarette research and interview Dr Jonathan Livingstone-Banks lecturer & senior researcher in evidence-based healthcare in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford. Dr Livingstone-Banks is part of the Tobacco Addiction Group within the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. He carries out research in the field of tobacco control and evidence synthesis and is involved in many Cochrane Reviews on tobacco control topics. Dr Livingstone-Banks is also a philosopher interested in the philosophy of evidence-based healthcare.
In the May podcast Jonathan Livingstone-Banks discusses the findings of his overview of systematic reviews on the impacts of e-cigarette flavours. This is set against the backdrop of the first market authorisation of non-menthol, non-tobacco flavoured e-cigarettes in the US. The overview of reviews includes 32 reviews, 11 of which are higher quality and 21 of lower quality, and covers 1967 primary studies. Jonathan Livingstone-Banks outlines how e-cigarette flavours have the potential to impact a range of outcomes including e-cigarette and combustible cigarette use, safety profile, appeal, and perceptions of harm and how these may differ across different population groups. Overall, he considers that the data on flavours is limited and the impacts of e-cigarette flavours on e-cigarette and cigarette use are inconclusive. Further studies are needed to shed more light on this topic.
Reference for the overview of systematic reviews discussed in this podcast: Livingstone-Banks J, Travis N, Conde M, Chen Y(C), Zi P, Jarman H, et al. The impacts of e-cigarette flavours: An overview of systematic reviews. Addiction. 2025;120(7):1327-1344. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70017
This podcast is a companion to the electronic cigarettes Cochrane living systematic review and Interventions for quitting vaping review and shares the evidence from the monthly searches.
Our searches for the EC for smoking cessation review carried out on 1st May 2026 found: 1 linked report (10.1186/s13063-026-09622-6).
Our search for our interventions for quitting vaping review carried out on 1st May 2026 found: 1 new study (10.1016/j.acap.2026.103328) and 1 ongoing study (ACTRN12626000336381).
For further details see our webpage under 'Monthly search findings':
https://www.cebm.ox.ac.uk/research/electronic-cigarettes-for-smoking-cessation-cochrane-living-systematic-review-1
For more information on the full Cochrane review of E-cigarettes for smoking cessation updated in November 2025 see: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010216.pub10/full
For more information on the full Cochrane review of Interventions for quitting vaping published in November 2025 see: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD016058.pub3/full
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