A leading academic has criticised health officials for ‘promoting’ e-cigarettes despite growing evidence of their harms.
Professor Martin McKee, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said there are grounds for ‘serious concerns’ about e-cigarettes.
But Public Health England (PHE) recommends they be prescribed on the NHS, controversially claiming they are 95 per cent less harmful than cigarette smoking.
Last year it campaigned for smokers to switch to e-cigarettes, including as part of its annual ‘Stoptober’ quitting campaign.
Past research has shown e-cigarettes are capable of damaging the blood vessels and potentially the heart by triggering inflammation (swelling) which, if continued over a long period of time, can cause permanent tissue damage (Pictured: A model using an e-cigarette the Vape Jam trade show in London earlier this month)
Professor McKee, a long-term critic of the promotion of the devices, said PHE ‘seems to be doing everything it can to promote e-cigarettes’, while choosing to ignore global warnings over the risks.
He said: ‘The nicotine in e-cigarettes is not a harmless drug and then there all these other things such as flavourings that are inhaled.
‘We haven’t had e-cigarettes for long enough to know the true effects. But when we look at the evidence we do have, there’s enough grounds for serious concerns.
‘Given the short-term effects on lung function and cardiovascular effects, there is enough evidence to say we should be very, very careful.’
The expert added: ‘It’s not whether e-cigarettes are safer than cigarettes, it’s whether they are actually safe.’
Many scientists are concerned about the safety of e-cigarettes, which are feared to be very attractive to young people and have been used by around three million British adults in the decade or so they have been available.
In the US, authorities have threatened to strip vaping devices and e-cigarettes off the shelves unless manufacturers do more to curb a rise in teenage use.
The devices contain a liquid form of nicotine which is heated into a vapour to be inhaled, avoiding the lung cancer risk from tobacco smoke.
The flavourings in electronic cigarettes may damage blood vessels in the same way as heart disease, according to research published in June.
The chemicals used to give the vapour flavours, such as cinnamon, strawberry and banana, can cause inflammation in cells in the arteries, veins and heart.
They causes the body to react in a way that mimics the early signs of heart disease, heart attacks or strokes, the study by Boston University found.
Other recent studies have also suggested smoking e-cigarettes could cause DNA mutations which lead to cancer, and enable pneumonia-causing bacteria to stick to the lungs easier.
Researchers at New York University subjected human bladder and lung cells to e-cigarette vapor, which is marketed as being healthier than tobacco.
They found the cells
