Does e-cigarette use predict short-term smoking cessation behaviors among adults who smoke in Mexico? A longitudinal study

•Evidence about e-cigarettes for smoking cessation is mostly limited to high-income countries and people who frequently smoke.•Mexicans who smoke and use e-cigarettes concurrently are more likely to try to quit but did not remain abstinent.•E-cigarette characteristics and frequency of use did not moderate the association between e-cigarette use and smoking cessation. This study assessed quit attempts among adults who use cigarettes either exclusively or with e-cigarettes in Mexico, where non-daily smoking predominates. An open cohort of Mexican adults who smoke was surveyed every four months from November 2018 to March 2021. Participants followed to the next survey were analyzed (n = 2220 individuals, 4560 observations). Multinomial logistic models regressed smoking quit attempts reported at the followup survey (ref = no attempt; tried to quit; sustained attempt of ≥30 days) on e-cigarette use frequency (none = ref; 1–2 days/week; ≥3 days/week), adjusting for sociodemographics and smoking-related variables. Additional models subdivided e-cigarette users by intentions to quit smoking in the next six months (i.e., yes/no), use of nicotine (i.e., yes/no), and vaping device used (i.e., open/closed). At 4-month follow-up, 32.7 % had tried to quit, and 2.9 % had quit for 30 days or more. Compared to those who smoke exclusively, occasional, and frequent e-cigarette users were more likely to try to quit (Adjusted Relative Risk Ratio or ARRR = 1.26 and 1.66, respectively) but no more likely to sustain their quit attempt. Among those who intended to quit smoking, e-cigarette users were no more likely to either try or sustain quit attempts. Furthermore, use of e-cigarettes with nicotine (59.6 %) was unassociated with cessation except that those who frequently used e-cigarettes with nicotine were more likely to try to quit than those who smoke exclusively (ARRR = 1.88). Device type used was not differentially associated with outcomes. Mexicans who smoke and use e-cigarettes appear more likely than those who smoke exclusively to try to quit but not to sustain abstinence.