Study finds E-cigarettes don’t help smokers quit

[hughee99]

39. Was this study designed specifically to compare quit rates for e-cig users vs. non-users?

It doesn't say what the study was specifically intended to look at, just that this was one of the things their data showed. If this study was specifically designed to do that, though, it looks like they created a study with a specific outcome intended, or at the very least negligently leaving out critical factors. In that case, I'd agree it's junk science.

If the study were simply looking to track ecig use among the general population, and this was something that they happened to notice in their data, then maybe the problem is just the conclusion that others are drawing from the data, not the study itself.

It's not really that uncommon for reporters to draw their own conclusions based on data from scientific studies that even the researchers are not willing to draw. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether its the scientist or the reporter that has the agenda.