Chronic smokers who switched from tobacco cigarettes to e-cigarette vapes in a large randomised controlled trial experienced a significant improvement in vascular function after just one month, researchers say.

A UK study found that cigarette smokers who switched to nicotine-containing vapes saw an average 1.5 percentage point improvement in flow-mediated dilatation within one month.

Professor Jacob George, of Dundee University in Scotland, said each percentage point improvement in vascular function results in a 13% reduction in cardiovascular event rates.

The Dundee University-led researchers recruited 114 long-term cigarette smokers who had smoked at least 15 cigarettes a day for at least two years.