Research suggests that E-cigarette smokers are more susceptible to suffering a stroke during middle age than those who smoke.
Academics in New York — who tracked almost 80,000 Americans — found smokers were up to six times more likely to suffer a stroke than vapers.
However, vapers had a roughly 15% greater chance of getting struck down earlier than those who smoke.
E-cigarette users suffered their first stroke aged 48, on average — a decade earlier than traditional cigarette smokers.
Even though vaping has been accepted to be healthier than smoking cigarettes, some researchers warn that young people can still sustain irreparable injuries from using the device.
Cigarette smoking increases your risk of having strokes, as well as the possibility that you will develop other diseases such as cancer or heart disease.
The announcement comes just as Britain prepares to become the world’s first country to recommend e-cigarettes in order to quit smoking.
Medical regulators believe that e-cigarettes could be soon prescribed to smokers by the NHS.
Mount Sinai Hospital researchers analysed data from 79,825 stroke survivors.
The doctors reviewed patient records from 2015-2018 to determine if they were either vapers, smokers or both.
The results showed that smokers are most at risk of suffering a stroke (6.75%), followed by vapers and smokers (3.72%) and vapers (1.09%).
However, the risks were reversed in adults of a younger age which was not defined by academics.
According to researchers, vaping can trigger strokes as its smoke could contain harmful chemicals.
The doctors warned that these can cause blood vessel damage and even atherosclerosis. This is when an artery blockage occurs.
The stroke can be caused by reduced blood flow to the brain.
Smoking normal cigarettes can also increase the risk of stroke and atherosclerosis.
Scientists who were not involved in this study noted that it did not take into account whether those who had smoked previously before vaping was a factor.
Scientists believe e-cigarettes can be healthier than smoking, as they don’t contain any of the harmful chemicals found in cigarettes.
Presently, there are 3million Britons using vapes, which is nearly triple what was 700,000.
For comparison, currently there are 15million UK smokers. This is a decrease of 25% compared to a decade ago.
The study was conducted by Dr Urvish Ptel at Icahn School of Medicine. He warned of hidden dangers that e-cigarettes might pose to the health of patients.
He stated that “The safety of electronic cigarettes has not been proven to be safe for the public.” [sic]To be secure
«[They]Traditional smoking should be avoided, especially for those with high risk factors like high blood pressure or history of heart attacks.
The study did not include a placebo group, so scientists couldn’t determine whether vapers are more likely to have strokes than the rest of the population.
It was not possible to determine whether strokes were severe or mild, nor whether the participants suffered from other medical conditions like high blood pressure.
LeonieBrose, a King’s College London smoking expert, did not participate in the research. She said that it was impossible to determine if the vapers had ever smoked.
According to her, the survey was a cross-sectional one. It means that respondents have had strokes in the past, possibly years prior to the completion of the survey.
“At least some of these strokes would thus have occurred prior to e-cigarettes. The strokes were not caused or made worse by the e-cigarette.
John Britton Emeritus, an epidemiologist from Nottingham University pointed out the fact that smoking was a much greater risk than being a vaper for having a stroke.
Vaping is allowed in the United States, but there are less regulations. In 2019, nearly 2,000 were admitted to hospital after using an unregulated product.
The UK, however, has strict regulations. They are not allowed to be sold in the UK as medicines, like it is with the US.
England could soon be the first nation to offer e-cigarettes for smokers.
To be able for manufacturers to submit their devices to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency MHRA to have them undergo the same approvals process’ that other medicines.
These products could then be licensed by medical professionals and can be prescribed to smokers on a case to case basis.
Currently, the NHS advises that vaping can help smokers — though it is not available on prescription.
Sajid Javid (Health Secretary) stated when the plans were made public last month that they would allow the NHS to prescribe the devices.
He said it could be used to reduce the gap in tobacco use across the country and help people quit smoking, no matter their location.
These findings will be presented to the American Heart Association at their Scientific Sessions on Saturday.
More than 100,000 strokes occur in Britain every year. This causes more than 38,000 deaths. The US has 795,000 annual strokes.