Patterns of tobacco and e-cigarette use status in India: a cross-sectional survey of 3000 vapers in eight Indian cities
An interview-based survey of 3,000 vapers across India's 8 largest metros. 71.3% of smokers reported quitting (30.0%) or reducing (41.3%) smoking with the help of e-cigarettes; similar patterns held among smokeless tobacco users. 79% believed e-cigarettes less harmful than smoking; 80% had first used nicotine via smoking or smokeless tobacco, not vaping — evidence against a vaping-as-gateway pattern in this sample.
Relevance to India: The largest India-specific study of its kind found — directly answers the question of whether e-cigarettes work as a quitting/reduction tool for Indian smokers and smokeless tobacco users specifically, rather than relying only on evidence from the UK, US or Sweden.
Found during a 2026-09-09 research pass into the evidence base available for the site. Convenience-sample survey (self-selected vapers, not a population-representative sample), so the 71.3% figure describes this surveyed group, not Indian smokers generally — worth stating that caveat wherever this is cited on the site. Full text on PMC.