SMOKERS who switch to vaping start to lower their risk of heart attack and stroke after just one month, a major study suggests.
The health of their blood vessels improved, with efficiency returning halfway towards that of a typical non-smoker after four weeks.
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Researchers said their trial is the largest yet into the effects of vaping on heart health and shows a “clear early benefit” of switching.
The University of Dundee scientists measured the blood flow of smokers at the start of the trial and again after a month of vaping.
Their score increased by a fifth, from 5.5 at the start to 6.7 at the end. Healthy non-smokers average a reading of 7.7.
A rise of 1 point, sustained over the long-term, has previously been linked to a 13 per cent lower risk of heart attack and stroke.
The study recruited 114 UK adults who had smoked at least 15 cigarettes a day for at least two years, with no history of heart disease.
Forty volunteers continued smoking tobacco cigarettes, 37 switched to e-cigs with nicotine and 37 switched to e-cigs without.
Vessel health remained unchanged in those who continued to smoke but improved in both groups who switched to vaping.
‘SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT’
Study leader Prof Jacob George said: “It is crucial to emphasise that 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.
“However, for chronic tobacco smokers there were significant improvements in vascular function within a month of switching from a tobacco cigarette to an e-cigarette.”
Prof Jeremy Pearson, from the British Heart Foundation, said: “Stopping smoking is the single best thing you can do for your heart health.
“This study suggests that vaping may be less harmful to your blood vessels than smoking cigarettes.
“Within just one month of ditching tobacco for e-cigarettes, people’s blood vessel health had started to recover.”
But he warned: “We still do not know the long-term impact on the heart and circulation or other aspects of health.”
Public Health England says vaping is 95 per cent safer than smoking and wants smokers to switch.
But heart experts warned earlier this week that e-cigs risk getting a generation of kids hooked on nicotine and called for a ban.
There are 5.9million smokers and 3.6million vapers in the UK. Up to 70,000 smokers a year are quitting thanks to vaping.
The findings are published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
