A new study suggests that electronic cigarette smoke can increase the risk of cancer and heart disease by damaging DNA within a maximum of 10 years.
"Although it is clear that an electronic cigarette is less harmful than normal smoking, it poses a serious risk to the health of its users and should not be promoted as healthy and safe," the British Telegraph newspaper quoted researchers from the University of New York School of Medicine as saying.
Scientists looked for mutations in DNA, lung and heart cells in animals exposed to electronic cigarettes for 10 years. The researchers found that electronic cigarette smoke damages DNA and prevents the genetic code from repairing itself.
"Electronic cigarette smoke may contribute to lung and bladder cancer, as well as heart disease," they said.
The researchers concluded, based on these findings, that "the risk of electronic cigarette smokers' risk of lung cancer and heart disease, higher and stronger than non-smokers of this type of cigarettes."