Daily E-Cig Users Have Double the Risk of Heart Attack as Non-Users
A study reveals that people who use e-cigarettes daily have double the risk of suffering a heart attack. Among those who vape and use traditional cigarettes every day, the risk of heart attack increases fivefold.
Stanton Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, said:
“Using both products at the same time is worse than using either one separately.”
A majority of adults who use e-cigarettes also smoke traditional cigarettes. In the study, 66% of e-cigarette users also puffed away on tobacco cigarettes, according to Glantz.
For the study, researchers looked at data from almost 70,000 Americans who completed national health surveys in 2014 and 2016.
- About 3.6% of the more than 9,300 current and former smokers who responded to the survey suffered a heart attack at some point.
- Daily vapers had the most heart attacks (6%).
- However, adults who combined e-cigarette and tobacco cigarette smoking on a daily basis were found to be 4.6 times more likely to have suffered a heart attack than those who used neither, the data showed.
The scientists controlled for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. [2]
Read: Vaping and Smoking Tobacco Both Affect the Heart in Similar Ways
But the Study was Fairly Limited
- The study was observational in nature and does not prove cause-and-effect.
- The study was also limited by the fact that the data relied on self-reporting.
- Additionally, the researchers did not account for other potential risk factors, such as a family history of heart attack.
Glantz said:
“While people may think they are reducing their health risks, we found that the heart attack risk of e-cigarettes adds to the risk of smoking cigarettes. Someone who continues to smoke daily while using e-cigarettes daily increases the odds of a heart attack by a factor of 5.” [1]
But as soon as a smoker kicks the habit, their risk for heart attack drops immediately. The study suggests the same is true for e-cigarette users who give up vaping.
E-cigarettes have been touted as a healthier alternative to tobacco cigarettes because e-cigarettes deliver lower levels of cancer-causing chemicals. However, research shows that e-cigarettes deliver ultrafine particles and other toxins that boost the risk of heart and lung disease, the authors noted in the report.
Read: The Immediate and Long-Term Benefits of Quitting Smoking
Glantz said:
“The only way to substantially reduce the risk of a heart attack is to stop using tobacco.”
He added:
“If you switch, it’s almost the same as continuing to smoke. You have the residual risk of being an e-cigarette user. The way to get rid of the risk is to stop.” [2]
Sources:
[1] HealthDay
