Vaping may be less harmful to blood vessels than smoking cigarettes

Is vaping less harmful to blood vessels than smoking? New BHF-funded research has shown that when heavy smokers switch to e-cigarettes, their blood vessel health improves within one month.

The VESUVIUS study is thought to be the largest to date investigating the impact of swapping from smoking to vaping on the heart and circulation. 

In the study, improvements to blood vessel health were seen regardless of whether someone swapped to an e-cigarette with or without nicotine, and women saw greater gains from swapping than men.

Professor Jacob George, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Therapeutics at the University of Dundee and Chief Investigator of the trial commented on the study, “It is crucial to emphasise that e-cigarettes are not safe, just less harmful than traditional cigarettes when it comes to vascular health. Smoking of any kind is a preventable risk factor for heart disease.

“They should not be seen as harmless devices for non-smokers 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. “ 

Our hearts and blood vessels are the hidden victims of smoking

The trial, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and carried out by the University of Dundee, also found that participants who stuck to the switch best saw the greatest benefit.

The researchers say that if the improvements were sustained over a long time, smokers switching to vaping could expect to see at least a 13 per cent drop in their risk of having a cardiovascular event, which includes heart attacks and strokes. 

The study recruited 114 long-term cigarette smokers who had smoked at least 15 cigarettes per day for at least 2 years. Participants were allocated to one of three groups for one month: those who continued smoking tobacco cigarettes, those who switched to e-cigarettes with nicotine and those who switched to e-cigarettes without nicotine. Participants had their blood vessel health tested at the beginning of the trial and after one month, and were monitored throughout the test period.

"Stopping smoking is the single best thing you can do for your heart health"

Our Associate Medical Director Professor Jeremy Pearson, shared his take on the study, “Our hearts and blood vessels are the hidden victims of smoking. Every year in the UK, 20,000 people die from heart and circulatory disease caused by smoking cigarettes – that’s more than 50 people a day, or 2 deaths every hour. 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 electronic cigarettes people’s blood vessel health had started to recover.

 “Just because e-cigarettes may be less harmful than tobacco doesn’t mean they are completely safe. We know they contain significantly fewer of the harmful chemicals, which can cause diseases related to smoking, but we still don’t know the long term impact on the heart and circulation, or other aspects of health. E-cigarettes and vaping should never be taken up by people who don’t already smoke, but could be a useful tool to help people to stop smoking completely.”  

Find out more about vaping and health