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VAPING INCREASE: The number of people who have tried e-cigarettes almost doubled in two years. 

Researchers examined the use of the devices across the EU between 2012 and 2014 and found an average increase between of 7.2% to 11.6%, according to the study, published in the journal Tobacco Control.

Lead author Dr Filippos Filippidis from the School of Public Health at Imperial said: “There is debate about the risks and benefits associated with e-cigarettes. For instance we don’t know whether we may start to see diseases emerge in 10-20 years’ time associated with some of the ingredients.”

STILLBIRTH RISKS: Exposure to air pollution may increase the risk of stillbirth, new research suggests.

Researchers have called for tighter curbs on car exhausts and industrial waste emissions to reduce air pollutants after their research concluded that exposure to ambient air pollution heightens the risk of stillbirth.

Following a systematic review of 13 studies on the subject, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the researchers found the risk was particularly heightened during the third trimester of pregnancy. Researchers said there is evidence that ambient air pollution is a risk factor for stillbirth.

DISASTROUS DIETS: Urging people to follow low-fat diets and to lower their cholesterol is having “disastrous health consequences”, a health charity has warned.

In a new report, the National Obesity Forum and the Public Health Collaboration in Britain call for a “major overhaul” of current dietary guidelines.

They say the focus on low-fat diets is failing to address the obesity crisis, while snacking between meals is making people fat.

Instead, they call for a return to “whole foods” such as meat, fish and dairy, as well as high-fat healthy foods including avocados, arguing that “eating fat does not make you fat”.

The report — which has caused a backlash amongst the scientific community — also argues that saturated fat does not cause heart disease while full-fat diary - including milk, yoghurt and cheese - can actually protect the heart.