Now e-cigarettes are linked to heart attacks

USING e- cigarettes daily raises the risk of heart attacks by just over a third, researchers have warned.

Concerns are growing about the long-term health effects of vaping, despite electronic cigarette devices being at the heart of the UK’s anti-smoking drive.

Experts examined data from more than 90,000 e-cigarette users and found those who vaped every day were 34 per cent more likely than non-vapers to suffer a heart attack. Those who used the devices more sporadically had a 29 per cent increased risk.

Study leader Dr Mohinder Vindhyal, from the University of Kansas, said: ‘Until now, little has been known about cardiovascular events relative to e-cigarette use.

‘These data are a real wake-up call and should prompt more action and awareness about the dangers of e-cigarettes.’

The study, to be presented at the American College of Cardiology conference in New Orleans this month, is one of the largest ever conducted on vaping’s impacts.

But Dr Vindhyal admitted the research was not perfect – most of the e-cigarette users were former tobacco smokers so the heart problems could be due to their earlier tobacco use. Roughly a third of the users were also current tobacco smokers, but Dr Vindhyal stressed his team had tried as far as possible to take smoking into account.

He said: ‘I wouldn’t want any of my patients nor my family members to vape … Regardless of how frequently someone uses e- cigarettes, daily or just on some days, they are still more likely to have a heart attack or coronary artery disease.’ The team’s initial analysis suggested e- cigarette users had a 56 per cent increased risk of heart attack than those who did not vape. But taking into account the fact that people who were also regularly smoking tobacco were found to have a 165 per cent increased heart attack risk, they calculated the increased risk of just vaping was about 34 per cent.

E- cigarette users were also 55 per cent more likely to suffer from depression or anxiety. Public Health England, along with many other health experts in the UK, view e-cigarettes as crucial to the fight against tobacco smoking, arguing the benefits of vaping far outweigh potential harm.

The devices contain a liquid form of nicotine that is heated into vapour to be inhaled, avoiding the harm caused by tobacco smoke. About three million adults in Britain are said to use e-cigarettes.

But other experts, particularly cardiologists, are concerned about unresolved safety concerns and are especially worried about their use among young people.

Critics have also warned the UK is ‘way out of step with the rest of the world’ in its approach. The World Health Organisation is concerned about cancer- causing chemicals in the devices and the EU believes e-cigarettes may act as a ‘gateway’ to tobacco.

Last month, the outgoing head of the US Food and Drug Administration, Scott Gottlieb, said he was so concerned about teenage use of the devices that he was considering banning them completely.

An editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine last month warned about the concerns among US health professionals. It said: ‘While e- cigarettes are “safer” than traditional cigarettes, they are not without risks. E-cigarette vapour contains many toxins and exerts potentially adverse biologic effects on human cells.’

Martin Dockrell, in charge of tobacco policy at PHE, said: ‘Vaping isn’t risk-free but it is far less harmful than smoking.

‘If you don’t smoke, don’t start and don’t vape. If you do smoke, quit now and consider using an ecigarette to help you.’

‘This is a real wake-up call’