Studies Show You Shouldn’t Vape Whilst Pregnant

Whilst the evidence is clear that vaping is far healthier than smoking, there are still precautions you should take.

Vaping is the inhalation of flavoured air rather than smoke. That much is known and widely accepted as healthier than smoking. As opposed to smoking in which tobacco is burnt with fire, you are merely breathing in water vapour with a few added ingredients when it comes to using vape liquid. Despite its safety, there are still age restrictions on vaping for a reason. That mostly comes down to the use of nicotine in vape e liquid, the addictive derivative of the nightshade plant which is what the linking factor between tobacco and vaping is. The nicotine, alongside some of the other ingredients, is why vaping has been linked to recent studies which concluded that women should not be using the devices whilst and if pregnant.

Why shouldn’t I vape whilst pregnant?

Nicotine containing and nicotine-less vape juice has been recently linked to upping the risk of asthma in unborn children. Recent studies have shown how vaping could lead to the often-lifelong condition being amplified using vaping devices and so pregnant women should take extra care when thinking about their nicotine habit. It isn’t necessarily just the nicotine in vapes which cause this, there are other ingredients which may be detrimental to the development of your unborn child. That isn’t to say that vaping is unhealthy, there are just more risks involved with the human body when it comes alongside pregnancy.

Who carried out the research?

From the University of Technology in Sydney, the Airways Disease Group carried out the study using Mice as test subjects. The mice used in the experiment were female. One group were raised in an environment including large amounts of vape in the air whilst the other group was raised in a clear environment. When males were released to mix with the females, the soon pregnant females continued to be raised in the vapour heavy environment which was carried on until their children were born. When born the children were raised in the vape environment and exposed to the allergen ovalbumin, a protein which in the past has been linked to asthma. The study seemed to show that the exposure to vape meant that the children were at more risk of developing asthma after they were born. It seemed that part of the reason for this development was in the effect of the vapour on the animal’s mitochondria cells. The test from the Airways Disease Group showed that during the exposure to vape, the mitochondria cell, the work horses of the human body, were limited in function in the respiratory system, leading to evidence of asthma.

The effects of asthma

With pone in 12 people suffering from asthma in the world and that number growing, it is a good idea to stop potential causes in its tracks. With an extra 1 percent of the population gaining asthma between 2001 and 2009, there seems to be an increased risk. Asthma has the potential to kill, those suffering from it having difficulty breathing and a wheeziness and tightness of the chest being some of the uncomfortable symptoms.

Can we trust this data?

The problem is that there are sceptics of the study such as Linda Bauld, Professor of Health policy at the University of Stirling. She claims that instead of focussing on these potential negative effects of vaping, the amny positives should be taken which would be far more beneficial for current smokers who are pregnant. Tackling vaping as a smoking cessation tool rather than a hindrance on public health would be better in tackling asthma. Whilst the study may have effects on mice resulting on asthma, the human respiratory system and that of a mouse are fundamentally different, meaning that perhaps the evidence shouldn’t be taken completely on face value.