Using electronic cigarettes could be as bad for the heart as smoking tobacco, research suggests. Scientists found inhaling nicotine vapour damages key blood vessels, raising the risk of heart disease. The team monitored participants’ hearts while smoking a conventional cigarette for five minutes and using an e-cigarette for half an hour, which they said was the most accurate comparison of typical use.

They found the two activities led to similar levels of stiffness in the aorta, the main artery, which is a major cause of heart problems. Both also raised blood pressure. The Greek scientists stressed this only revealed short-term damage, and more research is needed into long-term effects.  But they said their trial of 24 healthy men and women, with an average age of 30, shows e-cigarettes are ‘far more dangerous than people realise’. READ MORE