Smokers may “have healthier hearts” soon after quitting Smokers can improve their heart health within weeks of switching to e-cigarettes. The number of people using e-cigarettes has grown rapidly over the past decade, and they have helped many people quit smoking. However, because e-cigarettes have been used for a relatively short period of time, we are still building evidence about their health effects – both positive and negative. In this new Scottish study, researchers recruited 115 smokers, about two-thirds of whom were willing to switch to e-cigarettes, while one-third continued to smoke. After one month, the researchers found that when blood flow increased, the arteries of those who switched to e-cigarettes were better at dilating, meaning that arterial flexibility was restored. The ability of arteries to remain flexible and respond to changes in blood flow is known as vascular function, and poor vascular function is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, such as heart attack. Therefore, this study may suggest that these people who switched to e-cigarettes had a reduced risk of heart disease or stroke. However, the study is somewhat limited because only a very small percentage of people were studied and followed for only a short period of time. It is unlikely that this effect was caused by the e-cigarettes themselves, but rather the effects of smoking cessation. There is less evidence for the effects and potential harms of e-cigarettes and other well-established cessation treatments are recommended. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Dundee and funded by the British Heart Foundation. The study was published in the peer-reviewed AmericanCollegeofCardiology. CONCLUSIONS: Smokers, especially female smokers, showed significant improvements in vascular health within 1 month of switching to e-cigarettes, and switching from smoking to e-cigarettes may be considered a measure of harm reduction. The use of e-cigarettes has grown rapidly over the past decade. There is evidence that they can reduce smoking rates, and they are known to be far less harmful than smoking. However, because they have only been around for a relatively short time, we are still gathering information about their direct health effects (both positive and negative). We do know that smoking is harmful to health in many ways, increasing the risk of not only cardiovascular disease, but also many cancers and other chronic diseases. Quitting smoking is important, while evidence suggests that e-cigarettes are far less harmful to health than smoking, but not risk-free, and further evidence is being collected on this.