[Smoking cessation in secondary prevention of acute coronary syndrome: The role of the electronic cigarette]

Objectives: To study the use, efficiency and wishes for a "medicalization" of the electronic cigarette (EC) for smoking cessation in secondary prevention of acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Patients and method: Prospective epidemiological study with inclusion of smoker patients hospitalized from 1st June 2015 to 31st March 2016 at the St Quentin Hospital (Picardy, France) for an ACS (except unstable angina), interviewed 1 year after their ACS, excluding patients over 75 years or with personal history of ACS.

Results: Eighty-one patients were included. 59 questionnaires (73%) were returned and analyzed. The average age was 53.3 years. There were 45 men (76.3%) and 14 women (23.7%). 11 patients (18.6%) had used the EC at least once before their ACS and 11 (18.6%) had used it after. That was the second most used smoking cessation method after the nicotine patches. One year after their SCA, 39 patients (66.1%) had stopped smoking: 63.6% (7/11) of EC users after the ACS against 66.7% (32/48) of non-users (P=0.848). After multivariate analysis, only cessation without help was associated with ceasing (P=0.013). CE users were significantly younger, were smoking more before their ACS, and had started smoking earlier. 50% of CE users would have appreciated to be better informed by their general practitioner and 53.3% expressed themselves in favor of a sale in pharmacies.

Conclusion: EC is the second most common means of smoking cessation after an ACS. Further comparative studies are essential to know more about its efficiency and safety.