“At this point we just don’t have enough proof that e-cigarettes are safe, and that they are a useful tool for those who want to break their smoking addiction”, says Consumer Reports chief medical adviser Marvin M. Lipman, M.D.

The conclusion, issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, or USPSTF, as a part of updated recommendations on smoking cessation, adds to an emerging consensus in the medical community that e-cigarettes come with too many unknowns for them to be recommended to current smokers looking to kick the habit. Even though e-cigarettes have been around since 2007, the group said there was still not enough evidence for them to make even a cautionary judgement about the devices.

It is strongly encouraged that clinicians advise adults to use a combination of both – personal and cessation medication – interventions.

The use of e-cigarettes as a potential coping mechanism by smokers attempting to quit has been noted by some health campaigners. One of the trials found no difference in cessation rates between those who used nicotine patches, e-cigarettes with nicotine and e-cigarettes without nicotine.

The USPSTF findings concluded that only two trials examining e-cigarette’s effect on quitting tobacco met their standards for research.

In addition, the final recommendation said that clinicians should provide appropriate cessation aids to patients who do use tobacco. “The good news is that there are many effective interventions to help people stop smoking”.

Another trial studied 300 smokers over 12 months and found that e-cigs with nicotine is slightly better (11 percent cessation) than the devices with nicotine cartridges (4 percent cessation).

A major obstacle challenging doctors and scientists who assess e-cigarettes is, at its core, the vast variety of options available. It is clear that more data on both the benefits and harms of these products-from well-designed trials-is needed. In April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that e-cigarette use has tripled among middle and high school students, raising a concern about how using e-cigarettes may lead to using tobacco as teens grow older. Some find they need nicotine replacement therapy or other medicines.