E-cigs don't actually help people quit smoking tobacco, according to new research.
Most dual users are likely to carry on consuming both products, scientists said.
Vaping has a reputation as being a "safer alternative" - and an avenue to kicking cigarettes.
But a study found they fail to reduce the habit at the population level.
Corresponding author Dr. Nandita Krishnan of The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., said: "Most dual users maintained long-term cigarette smoking or dual use, highlighting the need to address cessation of both products."
Quitting is the most important thing a smoker can do to improve their health. But most adults who smoke cigarettes and vape are likely to carry on smoking or continue dual use over the long term.
Dual vaping and smoking are harmful and current evidence suggests that it’s common. But it’s not clear how each product is used over time and how these patterns of use might interact.
The researchers looked at data on 545 dual users in waves in the U.S. Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study.
The analysis in Tobacco Control is the first of its kind. At the outset, participants had to be dual users - current regular vapers and smokers.
The behaviors were then tracked at each of four successive follow-up waves of the PATH Study.
Over the entire six years, quitting vaping early but continuing to smoke was the most common pattern for nearly half the participants (42%).
Just one in ten (10%) quit both vaping and smoking early - with one in seven (15%) continuing to use both products.
The frequency of vaping and smoking, nicotine dependence, and use of cannabis and other tobacco products were all influential.
Dual users who smoked less frequently were more likely to quit both products early on or gradually quit smoking.
Krishnan said: "To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to examine joint trajectories of vaping and cigarette use among adult dual users.
"Given the high prevalence of dual use and transitions between vaping and cigarette use, it is important to understand how trajectories for both products are related among dual users.
"Identifying joint trajectories of ENDS and cigarette use, and their predictors can help to determine the long-term public health impact and inform tobacco control policies and interventions."
She added, "Continued monitoring of trajectories and their predictors is needed, given ongoing changes to the vaping marketplace."
E-cigarettes heat a liquid containing nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals, which make an aerosol that users inhale into their lungs.
The researchers found using e-cigs – even on a daily basis – does not help smokers successfully stay off cigarettes over the long term.
A 2015 study found e-cigs were no better than nicotine patches or dummy devices at helping people quit smoking.
After a month of switching from tobacco, the electronic devices did help smokers kick the habit.
But three to six months later, users started smoking again. The devices also caused adverse effects, including dry cough, throat irritation and shortness of breath.
The analysis found e-cig users were more likely to suffer serious problems such as lung inflammation and irregular heartbeat compared with using a nicotine patch.
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