E-cigarette use was associated with higher likelihood of short-term, but not long-term quitting.
Overall, 2.71% of adults, translating to 1.09 million people, used e-cigarettes daily or occasionally during 2018, they said. A majority of e-cigarette users (97.5%) were concurrently regularly smoking cigarettes.
The researchers say implementing excise taxes on e-cigarettes at 75% of the cigarette excise tax rate could generate annual revenue of up to R2.2bn.
The studies were conducted by the Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research (ATIM) at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU), the University of Pretoria and the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC).
We all have a responsibility to remain aware and vigilant in protecting the health of our people.