‘Clear early benefit’ for smokers who switch to vaping

LONG-TERM SMOKERS who switched to vaping were halfway towards achieving the vascular health of a non-smoker within a month, a study has found.

Researchers from the University of Dundee said they discovered a “clear early benefit” in switching from smoking to vaping, in the largest clinical trial to date. Those who ditched cigarettes and vaped instead saw their blood vessel function increase by around 1.5 percentage points within four weeks compared to those who continued smoking.

The researchers said they did not know whether this benefit would be sustained, with more research needed into the longterm implications of vaping.

And they warned that vaping is not safe, merely “less harmful” than smoking.

But they said if this improvement was sustained into the longterm, those who switched would have at least a 13 per cent reduced risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks.

Jacob George, professor of cardiovascular medicine and therapeutics, who led the study, said conflicting safety advice from public health bodies across the world has led to confusion for the public and policymakers.

But he would not comment on whether Public Health England’s 2015 estimate was premature or backed up by evidence. He said: “It is crucial to emphasise that ecigarettes are not safe, just less harmful than tobacco cigarettes when it comes to vascular health.”

According to the Government, six per cent of Britain’s adult population use a vaporiser. The British Heart Foundation said moving towards a world with no e-cigarettes was “secondary” compared to stopping people smoking.