Outcomes of a telemedicine smoking cessation programme for heated tobacco product users in Japan: a retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVES: Japan is one of the largest markets for heated tobacco products (HTPs), and the number of HTP users, including dual users, is growing. However, it is not yet clear whether a telemedicine smoking cessation programme is effective for nicotine-dependent HTP users to quit smoking. We assessed the outcomes of a telemedicine smoking cessation programme in terms of continuous smoking cessation among smokers who had used HTPs compared with those who used exclusively cigarettes. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study to assess the outcomes of the telemedicine smoking cessation programme provided by Linkage, Japan, comparing the success rates of smoking cessation between exclusively cigarette group (as reference) and HTP user groups (exclusively HTPs or dual use of both cigarettes and HTPs). SETTING: Linkage telemedicine smoking cessation programme database, covering programme participants in Japan. PARTICIPANTS: Programme participants from between August 2018 and October 2020. OUTCOME MEASURES: Continuous abstinence rates (CARs) from 9 to 24 weeks (CAR9–24) and 9 to 52 weeks (CAR9–52). Adjusted ORs (aORs) with 95% CIs for CAR were calculated to compare the exclusively cigarette group with exclusively HTP and dual use groups. RESULTS: We analysed 733 telemedicine smoking cessation programme participants. Exclusively HTP users had higher CARs than the exclusively cigarette group for CAR9–24 (aOR 1.12, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.23; p=0.02) and CAR9–52 (1.09, 0.99 to 1.19; p=0.08). Conversely, dual users had lower CARs than the exclusively cigarette group for CAR9–24 (0.85, 0.76 to 0.95; p=0.004) and CAR9–52 (0.88, 0.79 to 0.97; p=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Exclusive HTP users achieved higher CARs, whereas dual users had lower CARs than exclusively cigarette users over short-term and long-term periods. A telemedicine smoking cessation programme may be a reasonable option for exclusive HTP users.