Smokers who switch to vaping benefit after only one month

LONG-TERM smokers who switch to vaping enjoy ‘significant’ benefits within a month, Scots researchers have found.

Their study – the largest clinical trial to date – found that those who changed to e-cigarettes were halfway towards having the heart health of a non-smoker after only four weeks.

Their blood vessel function was seen to increase, vital for ensuring that oxygen is carried around the body.

But while researchers noted a ‘clear early benefit’ in switching to vaping, this does not mean the devices are harmless.

Study leader Professor Jacob George, of Dundee University, said: ‘E-cigarettes are not safe, just less harmful than tobacco cigarettes when it comes to vascular health.

‘They should not be seen as harmless devices for non-smokers or young people to try. But for chronic tobacco smokers there were significant improvements in vascular function within a month of switching.’

He added that dual use of tobacco cigarettes and electronic versions makes it more challenging for researchers to tease out which side-effects are being caused by which habit.

Some 6 per cent of British adults use a vape, Government figures show. The Dundee study,

Vascular Effects of Smoking Usual Cigarettes Versus Electronic Cigarettes (Vesuvius), involved 114 UK adults who had smoked at least 15 cigarettes a day for at least two years.

Forty participants kept smoking regular cigarettes, 37 switched to e-cigarettes with nicotine and the rest had vapes without nicotine.

Blood vessel function was analysed using a test known as flow-mediated dilation (FMD). A healthy non-smoker has an average FMD score of 7.7 per cent, the study said. The smokers who switched to vapes with nicotine saw their score improve from 5.5 per cent to 6.7 per cent – a fifth – after four weeks.

The researchers warned that they did not know if this benefit would continue to improve at the same rate, or for how long, and said there needed to be further studies into long-term implications of vaping.

However, they agreed that if there was a sustained improvement, those who switched would lower their risk of problems such as heart attacks.

Earlier this week, separate research suggested vaping could damage the brain, heart, blood vessels and lungs. Cardiologists also said there was a ‘paucity of evidence’ to support claims that e-cigarettes are a ‘healthy’ alternative to smoking or that they help people quit.

This seemingly contradicts advice in a consensus statement by NHS Health Scotland, which says it would be a ‘good thing’ if smokers switched to vapes.

Professor Jeremy Pearson, of the British Heart Foundation, which funded the Dundee study, said ending e-cigarette use was a ‘secondary consideration’ against stopping people from smoking tobacco.

The findings are published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

‘Not safe but less harmful’