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Two tobacco sticks, 11% less give in an artery, and damage inside blood cells

Qurexa Editorial Team27 October 20266 min read 0 0
Two tobacco sticks, 11% less give in an artery, and damage inside blood cells

What happened

On Tuesday 27 October 2026, a team of heart researchers published a study on heated tobacco products. These are devices that heat a stick of tobacco instead of setting it alight. The study appeared in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology. The lead author was Dr Lea Strohm of the University Medical Center Mainz in Germany. Professor Thomas Münzel, from the same centre, was a co-author. The team worked with 30 adult smokers. Their average age was 34. All of them were otherwise healthy. First, the researchers took blood samples. They measured each person's blood pressure. They also used an ultrasound scanner on the main artery in the right arm, to see how well the vessel worked. Then each person used a tobacco heating device. They smoked two tobacco sticks, one straight after the other. After that, the same tests were repeated. The before-and-after numbers did not match. Systolic blood pressure, the top number in a blood pressure reading, went up by 3 mmHg. A measure called flow-mediated dilation fell by 11%. That is a test of how much an artery widens when blood flows through it more strongly. The amount of oxygen carried in blood returning to the heart dropped sharply, from about 71% to about 46%. The researchers also reported damage to DNA inside blood cells, and signs of a stress response called oxidative stress.

Why this matters

Heated tobacco devices are sold in the UK. They are often described as a cleaner choice than a normal cigarette, because the tobacco is not burned and there is no smoke in the usual sense. That claim is about what comes out of the device. This study asked a different question: what happens inside the body straight afterwards? The answer the researchers found was: quite a lot, and quite quickly. One sitting was enough to change how an artery behaved. Flow-mediated dilation sounds technical, but the idea is simple. Healthy arteries are springy. When more blood needs to get through, they widen to let it pass. When they stop doing that well, doctors treat it as an early warning sign for heart and circulation problems later on. Dr Strohm said the findings show these products "are not biologically inert". In plain terms: they do something, and what they do is not nothing. Professor Münzel went further. He said no nicotine-containing product can be treated as safe for the heart and blood vessels, whether it is smoked, heated, vaped or absorbed. He argued that governments should regulate all nicotine products under one set of rules, covering flavours, advertising and smoke-free laws. If you have swapped cigarettes for a heating device because you wanted to look after your heart, that was a sensible instinct. This study suggests the swap alone may not get you where you hoped.

What the evidence actually says

It is worth being careful here, because the study is small and early. Thirty people is not many. All of them were already smokers, and all were healthy, so the results may not apply to someone who has never smoked, or to someone who already has heart disease. The tests were done straight after use. That means the study cannot tell us how long the effects lasted. They may have faded within hours. Nobody yet knows. Dr Strohm said plainly that larger, longer studies are needed to find out. The published announcement does not give numbers for the DNA damage, and it does not describe a comparison group using ordinary cigarettes. So the study does not prove that heated tobacco is just as bad as smoking. What it shows is that heated tobacco is not harmless in the short term. This does fit a wider picture, though. In December 2025, an expert group writing for the European Society of Cardiology in the European Heart Journal concluded that e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, waterpipes, cigars and oral nicotine pouches all carry harm for the heart and blood vessels. They also warned that the long-term effects of the newer products are simply not known yet. So: one small study, pointing the same way as a larger body of expert opinion. That is a reason to take it seriously, not a reason to treat it as the final word.

Practical advice

Here are a few sensible steps, none of which cost anything. If you are using a heated tobacco device because you think it is safe, it is worth knowing that heart specialists do not agree. Treat it as a step on the way out of tobacco, not a resting place. If you want to stop, you do not have to do it alone, and you do not have to pay. NHS stop smoking services are free. Your local pharmacy team can often help on the spot, and your GP practice can refer you. People who get this kind of support generally do better than people who go it alone. Know your blood pressure. Many pharmacies in England offer free blood pressure checks for adults over 40. It takes a few minutes and gives you a number you can actually act on. Watch for the ordinary warning signs rather than the dramatic ones: getting out of breath more easily, chest tightness when you walk uphill, swollen ankles. Mention them to a clinician, even if they seem minor. If you are already on medicines for blood pressure or cholesterol, keep taking them as prescribed. A device swap is not a substitute for treatment.

What to know

A new study of 30 healthy smokers found that a single heated tobacco session raised systolic blood pressure by 3 mmHg, cut artery flexibility by 11%, dropped the oxygen in returning blood from about 71% to about 46%, and damaged DNA in blood cells. The study is small, measured only immediate effects, and did not compare the devices directly with cigarettes. It cannot tell us how long the changes last. But it lines up with an earlier expert review for the European Society of Cardiology, which found that no nicotine product is kind to the heart. The practical takeaway is modest and clear: do not assume a heated device is a safe place to stop. Free NHS help to quit is available through pharmacies and GP practices, and free blood pressure checks are widely offered. Sources: EurekAlert / European Society of Cardiology, "One session of heated tobacco use injures blood vessels and damages DNA", 27 October 2026, https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1149239 — European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, "Cardiovascular and metabolic acute effects of heated tobacco products in healthy smokers", 27 October 2026, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwag524 — European Society of Cardiology, "Vapes, pouches, heated tobacco, shisha, cigarettes: nicotine in all forms is toxic to the heart and blood vessels", December 2025, https://www.escardio.org/news/press/press-releases/vapes-pouches-heated-tobacco-shisha-cigarettes-nicotine-in-all-forms-is-tox/ This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. If you are worried about your heart, blood pressure or tobacco use, speak to your GP practice or pharmacy team.

#heated tobacco#heart health#blood pressure#smoking#research#European Society of Cardiology

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