British researchers released a new study last week that showed users of e-cigarettes were more likely to succeed at quitting smoking than people who use other smoking cessation products. 

The new study, which appeared May 21 on the journal Addiction, showed that e-cigarettes contain nicotine, but not tobacco, which reduced smokers' withdrawal symptoms. 

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The University College of London who led the research surveyed 5,863 adults who said they wanted to stop smoking. 

Of the 5,863 surveyed, 20 percent reported they had quit smoking tobacco completely and were off the deadly habit since the survey was conducted.

Another 20 percent said they stopped smoking after using nicotine patches and nicotine gums, while another 15 percent said they stopped without using any smoking cessation products. 

Jamie Brown, one of the authors of the study, said e-cigarettes seemed to have a widespread appeal to smokers who want to quit than traditional smoking cessation methods. 

"Insofar as e-cigarettes helped people to stop, then the fact that they are so widely used could suggest that it would have a quite positive public health effect," Brown said. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 42 million people smoke tobacco in the United States. The CDC said 68 percent of these smokers are trying to quit. 

E-cigarettes are battery-operated and simulate tobacco smoking. It looks like a usual tobacco but releases vapor instead of the smoke that comes from regular cigarettes. 

E-cigarettes are lightly regulated in the U.S. because of an ongoing debate about their safety and impact on public health. 

Those in favor of vaping (people who use e-cigarettes are called vapers) said the device is a much safer alternative to traditional tobacco. Its detractors, however, say that e-cigarettes pose the same dangers as those found in regular tobacco products. 

According to Dr. Michael Siegel, community health sciences professor at Boston University School of Public Health, e-cigarettes appear to be a viable alternative to smoking traditional tobacco. He said that at least for some people, e-cigarette use can be a comparable method to help people quit smoking like the more mainstream nicotine replacement therapy.

Tagse-cigarettes, smoking, scientific research, University College of London, smoking cessation, smoking cessation products