E-health and smoking cessation: an umbrella review

<bold>Background:</bold> The proliferation of digital devices and the advent of e-health tools for smoking cessation has recently gained popularity as an innovative way to tackle tobacco dependence. <bold>Objective:</bold> The aim of this umbrella review was to summarise the state of the art on this innovative topic, evaluating the available evidence on its effectiveness for smoking cessation. <bold>Methods:</bold> On January 18th 2024, a systematic search of the literature was performed on PUBMED, Web of Sciences, Scopus. Firstly, to avoid a possible loss of relevant articles, we included studies assessing digital tools for smoking cessation of any study design, in English, any age group. Secondly, we only included systematic reviews. <bold>Results:</bold> The search yielded 3323, six different reviewers screened the articles for title and abstract, evaluating 22 valid to be analysed through full-text reading. Screened for full-text, 10 articles were included in the review with these preliminary results: 4 reported cessation rates biochemically evaluated; 2 showed higher rates of cessation with the use of personalised digital tools, with better-sustained quit rates for two months or more in the the e-health intervention group (RR 1.79, 95% CI 1.60–2.00); 6 articles assessed the risk of biases. <bold>Conclusions:</bold> The overall results showed that digital tools help increase the quitting rate among smokers, with significant positive effects of techniques as artificial intelligence interventions or e-tools together with pharmacotherapy. This evidence should be interpreted with caution due to the studies’ heterogeneity (e.g. follow-up duration). Further research is needed to clarify the implications of this innovative cessation instrument and its role in the fight against tobacco dependence.