Heated Tobacco’s Growing Popularity Sparks Heart Health Warnings

Heated tobacco products are becoming more common worldwide, promoted as a supposedly less harmful option than cigarettes.

New research, however, suggests even a single use may have immediate effects on the cardiovascular system.

Unlike cigarettes, these devices warm processed tobacco rather than burn it, creating an inhalable nicotine aerosol.

“Heated tobacco products ... are often marketed as less harmful alternatives to conventional cigarettes,” said lead author Lea Strohm, a scientist at University Medical Center Mainz in Germany. “However, independent evidence on their immediate effects on cardiovascular health, and the body as a whole, remains limited.”

In a study involving 30 otherwise healthy smokers, researchers measured what happened after participants used two heated tobacco sticks over 8 to 12 minutes.

The team found lower blood vessel function, higher blood pressure and indications of DNA damage in blood cells.

Blood vessel function fell by 11%, while systolic blood pressure — the upper number in a reading — increased by about 3 points.

“These results challenge claims that heated tobacco products are substantially less harmful to the cardiovascular system compared with conventional cigarettes,” Strohm said in a news release.

The researchers said heated tobacco should be regulated in the same way as cigarettes, including limits on advertising and flavorings, to help protect young people from nicotine addiction.

They also said additional studies are needed to clarify the long-term health risks.

The study appeared in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Sources

• HealthDay TV