Are you worried about the long-term effects of ?

While are often touted as a safer alternative to new research suggests it could pose even greater risks to your health.

Dr Maxime Boidin, the lead researcher behind the ’s first controlled study on the long-term effects of vaping at Metropolitan University, warns that consistent use of e-cigarettes could lead to serious health problems, including dementia, heart disease, and organ failure.

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Although the has described nicotine vapour as “substantially less harmful than smoking,” the study - which will conclude in March - points to dangers that may be as severe as those faced by smokers. One of the key issues with vaping, he explains, is that it’s simply much easier to continuously do it. Unlike smokers, who need to light a new cigarette after finishing one, vapers can keep inhaling without realising how much they're consuming.

The expert admits he was initially a strong advocate of vaping as a safer alternative, but after seeing the results of his research, he believes many people will be shocked.

The study, which involved people aged 18 to 45, measured the effects of vaping on blood vessel elasticity and blood flow to the brain.

For 12 hours prior to testing, they consumed only water and desisted from vaping, smoking and exercise. According to Dr Boidin, the mediated dilation (FMD) test, in which a cuff is placed on the participant’s arm and inflated to restrict the blood flow, before being released to measure how much the artery expands as more blood is passed through it, produced the starkest results.

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The senior lecturer in cardiac rehabilitation believes the damage is due to inflammation caused by nicotine, as well as the metals and chemicals found in vapes, which include propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine. Substances in the chemical flavourings such as carbonyl compound are known to cause inflammation and oxidative stress, which can lead to artery inner wall damage and cell death.

He says: “When you put this mixture of metals and chemicals into your body you can’t expect nothing to happen.” Vaping use in the UK has exploded since the first electronic cigarettes arrived here in 2005. There are now 5.1million people aged 16 or over in Britain - about one in ten - using vapes, according to figures last year from the Office for National Statistics. Vaping rates were highest among those aged 16 to 24, at 15.8%.

Dr Marina Murphy, scientific spokesperson for the UK Vaping Industry Association, dismisses the study’s findings, saying: “Millions of people have been using vaping products safely for many years. All the available data suggests that vapes are unlikely to exceed 5% of the health risks associated with cigarettes.”

And Public Health England is still advising that “vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking”.