CDA Essentials 2018 • Volume 5 • Issue 8

35 Issue 8 | 2018 | S upporting Y our P ractice Daily e-cigarette users were almost two times (1.7) as likely to have a heart attack compared to those who never used e-cigarettes, after controlling for other factors like cigarette smoking status, demographic factors and other health conditions. By comparison, people who smoked conventional cigarettes every day were roughly three times (2.7) as likely to have a heart attack compared to non-smokers. Although former and occasional e-cigarette users did not have an increased risk of heart attack, former and occasional conventional cigarette smokers did. But the dangers are greater for those who use both e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes every day. These dual users were roughly five times (4.6) more likely to have a heart attack compared to someone who never smoked or used e-cigarettes. “Dentists should not be encouraging their patients to use e-cigarettes,” says Dr. Stanton Glantz, professor of medicine in the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California San Francisco, and principal investigator of the research team. “The more we learn about them, the more dangerous they look.” a Using data from the 2014 and 2016 National Health Interview Survey (NIHS), which together surveyed over 69,000 people 18 years and older living in the U.S., researchers analysed the association between e-cigarette use, cigarette smoking and myocardial infarction. Although e-cigarettes are promoted as a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes, a new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine suggests that they may increase the risk of having a heart attack. 1 E-cigarettes could increase the risk of heart attack Dentists should not be encouraging their patients to use e-cigarettes The more we learn about them, the more dangerous they look. – Dr. Stanton Glantz Reference 1. AlzahraniT , Pena I, Temesgen N, Glantz SA. Association between electronic cigarette use and myocardial infarction. Am J Prev Med. 2018;55(4):455-61.