Top Medical Journal Retracts E-Cigarette Smoking Cessation Effectiveness Paper

Recently, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) retracted an article published two months ago about vaping e-cigarettes due to researchers notifying the editors of "significant coding errors" and other issues in the study.

This paper titled "Effectiveness of e-cigarettes compared with varenicline and nicotine gum for smoking cessation: a randomized clinical trial" was originally published in the January 29th issue of JAMA Internal Medicine, led by Dr. Liu Zhaobo from the Smoking Control and Respiratory Disease Prevention Department at Beijing Friendship Hospital. The researchers in this study found that in terms of helping people quit smoking, using e-cigarettes is not inferior to prescription medications and is more effective than nicotine gum. The paper has garnered widespread attention in the medical community, non-professional media, and social media.

However, the article was later retracted.

The retraction notice for this paper was issued on March 29th as follows:

We have identified significant coding errors that are difficult to correct. We also found discrepancies in the calculations, which have raised doubts about the accuracy and reliability of the reported results. Therefore, we believe it is necessary to retract this article in order to maintain the integrity of scientific research and uphold the trust of our readers and the medical community. All co-authors have agreed to the retraction. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this may have caused.

According to the academic media Research Gate, Liu Zhao later responded to media inquiries via email, stating that the article was voluntarily retracted by the research team. He provided the following explanation in response:

As we explained to the editors of the Journal of the American Medical Association, following the publication of this paper, we plan to conduct a secondary analysis. In this process, we discovered that 109 participants who should have been in the NRT group were incorrectly placed in the EC group, and another 109 participants who should have been in the EC group were incorrectly placed in the NRT group. We immediately conducted an analysis and found that the main results had changed, therefore, we promptly wrote a letter to the editor explaining this issue and requesting the retraction of the paper.

Furthermore, according to publicly available information, no other articles have been affected by these issues. According to Clarivate's Web of Science, the research findings in question have been cited once.

Dr. Liu Chaobo, the first author of the paper by the group called 2FIRSTS, was contacted for details regarding the withdrawal notice. Dr. Liu stated that the withdrawal notice was clearly explained and no further information could be disclosed. Additionally, a call was made to the Tobacco Control and Cessation Center at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital to inquire about the details, but the staff member who answered the call claimed to be unaware of the situation.

2FIRSTS will continue to follow the latest developments on the research paper and its retraction.