Can E-Cigs help smokers with mental illness cut down?
NCT ID NCT05815199
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study compares two approaches to help people with serious mental illness reduce their cigarette smoking: using e-cigarettes or nicotine patches and lozenges, combined with counseling. Sixty participants who smoke at least 5 cigarettes a day will be randomly assigned to one of the two groups. The goal is to see which method leads to a greater reduction in smoking over 8 weeks.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- e-cigarette (NJOY Ace) and nicotine replacement therapy (patch and lozenges)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show that e-cigarettes are a more effective harm-reduction tool than nicotine patches for people with serious mental illness who smoke.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with only 60 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The study relies on self-reported smoking, which can be inaccurate.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 60 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2023
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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21 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Currently smokes 5 or more CPD * Willingness and ability to provide informed consent * Age of at least 21 years * Has SMI diagnosis (such as Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective disorders, Bipolar disorder, Depressive disorders, Trauma and stressor related disorders etc.) as determined using the MINI tool * Interested in reducing CC smoking but not necessarily trying to quit * Own a mobile phone or have regular access to a mobile phone * Able to provide an additional contact to improve follow-up rates Exclusion Criteria: * Is pregnant or breastfeeding * Used tobacco other than CC in the past 2 weeks (e.g., EC, cigarillo) * Currently engaged in an attempt to quit CC * Change in dose of their psychotropic medication(s) in the last 30 days * Meeting DSM-V criteria for current alcohol or substance use disorder except for nicotine use disorder and active mild alcohol or substance use disorders. * Past month suicidal ideation/suicide attempt and/or psychiatric hospitalization in the last 30 days
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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NYU Langone Health
RECRUITINGNew York, New York, 10016, United States
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