No specific e-cigarette product can be recommended as effective or safe for smoking cessation, according to a position statement developed by the peak body for Australian respiratory physicians.

Evidence is lacking on whether e-cigarettes are effective in helping people quit smoking and they should not be used first-line, the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) says.

Instead, smokers enquiring about using e-cigarettes for smoking cessation should be provided with information about approved medication alongside behavioural support, as these interventions have the strongest evidence for efficacy, the statement says.

The aim should be complete smoking cessation including “subsequent cessation of e-cigarettes as promptly as possible”, say the authors, co-led by respiratory physician Professor Christine McDonald, of Austin Health in Melbourne.