Erectile dysfunction is twice as likely to be an issue for men if they use e-cigarettes, according to a new study.
The US study gathered data from more than 13,000 American men and looked at the differences between those who use the devices and non-smokers.
Conducted by a team from Grossman School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University in New York, the research found that those who used vapes or electronic cigarettes were 2.4 times more likely to experience impotency than non-smokers.
The study, published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, originally incorporated 13,711 participants. However, the number was later reduced to 11,207 men, none of whom had any previous diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.
In the larger group, men were 2.2 times more likely to experience erectile dysfunction if they used e-cigarettes. In the reduced group, the figure rose to 2.4.
Within the study, 14% of participants used vapes and e-cigarettes, 21% still smoked cigarettes, and half of all of the participants used to smoke cigarettes.
Erectile dysfunction was reported by 10% of all men included in the study.
Experts who conducted the research believe that the ability for blood vessels in the penis to dilate is restricted as a result of high levels of nicotine reducing blood flow. However, the experiment did not strictly prove the link between the two.
The long term data on e-cigarettes & their full health implications are simply too uncertain – the NHS should not be handing out e-cigarettes. Most Drs would be uncomfortable writing that prescription https://t.co/h1A3yHiBye
— Gene Matthews (@GeneMatthewsLaw) May 10, 2018