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(HealthDay)—Heat-not-burn “cigarettes” could be as harmful to your blood vessels as traditional smokes, a new animal study suggests.
Tobacco giant Philip Morris is seeking U.S. approval for one of these smoking alternative products, called iQOS. The company claims it’s safer than regular cigarettes.
But rats exposed to vapor from the device experienced the same decrease in blood vessel function as those exposed to cigarette smoke, said study senior researcher Matthew Springer.
Impaired blood vessel function increases the risk of heart attack or stroke, and can contribute long-term to hardening of the arteries, said Springer, a professor of cardiology with the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.
“I would be frankly amazed if these products were just as harmful as cigarettes in every single way, but less harmful does not equal harmless,” Springer said.
The iQOS—pronounced eye-kose—is being test marketed in…
