Offering e-cigarettes for smoking cessation and reduction in people with mental illness (ESCAPE): Protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Despite a steady decline in smoking rates across the United Kingdom (UK) over the past decades, substantial tobacco-related inequalities persist, particularly among individuals with mental illness. Smoking prevalence in this group has remained largely unchanged, highlighting a major public health concern. This protocol outlines a trial aimed at addressing this issue by evaluating the effectiveness of offering an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) starter kit for smoking cessation and harm reduction as an adjunct to usual care to adults who smoke with mental illness treated in the community.

Design

Two-arm parallel randomized controlled superiority trial.

Setting

A minimum of eleven UK National Health Service mental health Trusts or general practice

SUBMITTER: Kale D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12529246 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature