E-cigarettes can cause heart attacks, strokes – WHO

MANILA, Philippines - The World Health Organization (WHO) warned yesterday that the use of electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes could trigger heart attack, stroke and hypertension.

Susan Mercado, director for Building Healthy Communities and Populations at the WHO Western Pacific Region Office, said e-cigarettes contain “pure nicotine” that could lead to fatal and debilitating conditions.

“The action of e-cigarettes is based on constriction. It makes your blood vessels constrict, depending on the amount you are taking… We don’t know how much nicotine you get from inhaling e-cigarettes,” she said in a press briefing on the sidelines of the Red Orchid awarding ceremony at the Philippine International Convention Center.

She said a global panel of experts WHO organized in 2010 to review e-cigarettes did not find evidence to show that it can help a person quit smoking. “What we’ve seen in other countries is that they start with e-cigarettes and they end up smoking regular cigarettes,” she said.

Many e-cigarette manufacturers do not disclose the substances found in their products, which originated from China, she added.

“We do know that it contains pure nicotine and it can actually create nicotine addiction,” she said.

Mercado disclosed that two of the biggest tobacco companies are investing in e-cigarettes, saying it “makes us a bit worried.”

She said Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and United Kingdom have stopped the sale and use of e-cigarettes.