A leading heart consultant called for a ban on vaping and warned: “It’s more dangerous than smoking and booze combined.”

President of the International Society For Vascular Surgery, Prof Sherif Sultan, described e-cigarettes as “the disaster of the century”.

He told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “We need to ban them immediately.

“They are the most catastrophic new gadget in the country that have the potential to injure and destroy the well-being of patients.”

The expert’s comments come as a seventh US death linked to vaping was recorded in California earlier this week.

As of September 11 the American Center For Disease Control had identified 380 confirmed and probable cases of lung disease associated with vaping in 36 states.

On Tuesday, New York became the first to ban the sale of flavoured e-cigarettes and pressure is mounting for Ireland to follow suit.

Prof Sultan, who is also the chairman of the Western Vascular Institute, told how one of his patients lost the use of a limb.

He added: “I looked after a patient who ended up in intensive care because her daughter gave her a vape suggesting that it would be much better for her to use than smoke.

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“She lost the supply of one of her legs and half of the tissue of both kidneys because of the excessive use of nicotine vaping.”

Prof Sultan is now calling on the Health Minister to ban the use of e-cigs immediately.

He said: “Simon Harris needs to step in now before it’s too late and ban them.

“He needs to follow in Donald Trump’s footsteps. When Micheal Martin brought in the smoking ban 15 years ago, it was the best thing that ever happened to our country.

“Now the Health Minister needs to do the same.

“This is an epidemic that must stop now.

(Image: Getty Images)

“Vaping is more dangerous than smoking and alcohol combined. It is not safe.”

Cork woman Laura Linehan ended up in hospital when e-cigs first became available.

She said: “I will never forget it, my whole chest was in severe pain.

“I couldn’t breathe properly. I was told to stop vaping by medical staff.

“I went back to smoking cigarettes and believe it or not, I have never been sick since.”

Until recently e-cigs, which are now 15 years old, had been widely hailed as a safe alternative to smoking, helping millions kick the habit. Laura added: “I tried the vape as I wanted to give up smoking. I only used the vape for about three months. My chest was fairly bad. I thought it was an infection.

“One night I was struggling for my breath, I was as pale as a ghost and dehydrated. They thought it was food poisoning.

“When I told them I was using a vape, they said it could be that.”

Laura was told she was not the only one at Mercy Hospital in Cork with an illness medics suspected was linked to vaping.

She said: “At first my doctor thought it was food poisoning or bacterial.

“However, it was going on so long and I was in awful pain.

“When I told him I had been vaping, his eyes nearly popped out and said I wasn’t the first he had seen with the same symptoms.

“He told me to come off it and visit my GP if I was not better within seven days. Since I went back smoking I have never been sick since. I never went through anything like the pain I did. I will never touch the vape again.”

Retired hairdresser Jacqueline Crowley also ended up in hospital as her lung consultant told her he would prefer to see her “smoke a cigarette rather than vape”.

She explained: “I took him at his word and threw the e-cig out. He also told me they could be fatal if someone got a reaction.

“I found it very hard to breathe, my oxygen levels were very low and I’d picked up a severe infection in both lungs.

“The vape definitely caused my throat to be sore and gave me dry mouth syndrome. I was told vaping makes your lungs like autumn leaves – dry and crunchy.

“They do more damage than smoking. My consultant said he’d prefer to see me having a fag every so often because with the vape you’re constantly smoking with them.

“He told me to get rid of the vape as there are so many poisons in them and nobody should be using them until they went through rigorous trials.”

Irish people are the third biggest vapers on the planet, a report revealed earlier this year, with only the Japanese and British spending more per capita on them.

In a statement to the Irish Sunday Mirror the Department of Health said e-cigs are regulated here under the European Union and research is “rapidly evolving”.

It added: “Back in 2017, HIQUA conducted an assessment on the safety of e-cigarettes and at the time it was concluded that while they

were potentially safer than smoking, there is no long-term data on the health effects of chronic e-cigarette use.

“Once vaping was considered the healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes with millions of users around the world.

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“Now health officials fear there are serious dangers associated with vaping.”