Study finds single 'electronic cigarette' can affect airways rapidly

Often billed as a safer alternative to cigarettes, a new study finds electronic, or e-cigarettes, may not be as safe as advertised.

The study found participants who used the electronic cigarettes showed restricted airways and inflammation after only five minutes.

The study, out of Greece, saw changes in the lung function of healthy smokers who puffed on an e-cigarette, which delivers a vapourized liquid nicotine solution instead of tobacco smoke.

They were designed for smokers to get nicotine without exposing themselves, or others, to many of the toxins in tobacco smoke.

The study did not examine what the long-term affects of using e-cigarettes could be, and the lead researcher called for more studies into this.

A spokesperson for the tobacco industry defended the products, saying they cut out on second-hand smoke and many of the toxins in cigarettes.