Lead: Nicotine e-cigarettes for cigarette smoking cessation: Recommendations to US-based cliniciansLead: Nicotine e-cigarettes for cigarette smoking cessation: Recommendations to US-based clinicians
This Week in Addiction Medicine from ASAM
A concise news-style briefing reviews evidence on nicotine e‑cigarettes for smoking cessation alongside several recent studies on buprenorphine, naloxone access, medications for opioid use disorder, and harm reduction. The episode focuses on how these findings may guide clinicians’ conversations and decisions in addiction treatment.
7:31•3 Sept 2026
E‑Cigarettes, Buprenorphine, and Naloxone: A Rapid Update in Addiction Medicine
Episode Overview
- Clinicians are advised to integrate nicotine e-cigarettes into shared decision-making conversations about the risks and benefits of all evidence-based pharmacologic smoking cessation treatments.
- Early initiation of buprenorphine in patients with concurrent alcohol and opioid withdrawal is associated with lower patient-directed discharge rates and fewer readmissions.
- Naloxone vending machines and brief education at jail release appear feasible, but limited time and lack of awareness can hinder naloxone uptake.
- Public support is high for state licensure laws requiring addiction programmes to offer FDA-approved medications for opioid use disorder, across political and demographic groups.
- Mutual help group attendance and medications for opioid use disorder both contribute to greater opioid abstinence after jail release, with benefits evident at three and six months.
“Authors include one overarching recommendation: integrate e-cigarettes into conversations on the risks and benefits of all evidence-based pharmacologic treatments for smoking cessation.”
Front and centre is a Special Communication from JAMA: "nicotine e-cigarettes for cigarette smoking cessation." The episode sums up how the paper "summarizes the evidence on the use of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation and provides recommendations for clinicians on how to engage in conversations with adult patients who currently smoke cigarettes." You’ll hear how the authors’ main message is to "integrate e-cigarettes into conversations on the risks and benefits of all evidence-based pharmacologic treatments for smoking cessation," with practical tips on addressing misperceptions and using shared decision-making.
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? This Week in Addiction Medicine lines up a fast-paced briefing that keeps clinicians, recovery specialists, and policy geeks firmly up to date without drowning them in jargon. From there, the briefing moves through a series of recent studies that matter to everyday practice.
You’ll get headline findings on early buprenorphine initiation during concurrent alcohol and opioid withdrawal, naloxone vending machines at jail release, public support for state laws requiring addiction programmes to offer FDA-approved medications for opioid use disorder, and global snapshots of harm reduction services.
There’s also a closer look at non-medical gabapentin use among people with opioid use disorder, how mutual help groups and medications together support abstinence after jail release, and a small Vermont trial of contingency management for stimulant use in a syringe service setting. The style is brisk, concise, and clearly aimed at busy clinicians who want evidence first and commentary light.
If you’re short on time but keen to keep your practice grounded in current research, this round-up gives you plenty to think about. Which of these findings might shift how you talk with patients this week?
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