E-cigarettes may increase the stroke risk caused by smoking normal cigarettes, researchers warned last night.
The findings cast doubt on the benefits of using vaping devices to quit tobacco – although researchers found no ill-effects for people who had only ever used e-cigarettes.
Previous research has found adverse effects of e-cigarette use on heart rate and blood pressure, according to the US researchers. Dr Tarang Parekh at George Mason University, Virginia, USA, and colleagues looked at the impact on cerebrovascular disease.
They explain in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine yesterday (7 January) that: “Preliminary data indicate that nicotine and e-cigarette vaping prompt a glucose-deprived milieu in the neurovascular unit, leading to an amplified risk of stroke.”
They carried out a national cross-sectional health survey in the US, including 161,529 participants aged 18 to 44 years.
Analysis showed that people who used both e-cigarettes and ordinary cigarettes was linked to a nearly three times increased rate of stroke, compared with non-smokers.
The stroke rate was nearly twice that of people who smoked only ordinary cigarettes. However, there was no raised stroke rate for those who only used e-cigarettes.
“Sole e-cigarette use is not associated with greater odds of stroke in young adults,” the authors write. “However, if young adults have former or current combustible cigarette use, odds of stroke are significantly increased even compared with current sole combustible cigarette use.
“Switching from combustible cigarettes to e-cigarettes does not confer stroke benefits.”
Dr Parekh said: "This is an important message for young smokers who perceive e-cigarettes as less harmful and consider them a safer alternative. We have begun understanding the health impact of e-cigarettes and concomitant cigarette smoking, and it’s not good."
Parekh, T. et al. Risk of Stroke With E-Cigarette and Combustible Cigarette Use in Young Adults. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 7 January 2020; doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2019.10.008
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