A POPULAR vape flavour could harm the development of unborn babies, a study has warned.
While vaping is considered less harmful than smoking and carries a lower cancer risk than tobacco, there are other potential dangers of the habit that are still poorly understood.
Vanilla-flavoured vapes could harm the development of unborn babies, scientists have warned Credit: Getty
Women trying to conceive should be aware of this potential harm, experts have said Credit: Getty
Scientists have now said that women trying to conceive and mums-to-be should be aware of a “potential harm” linked to vanillin – a common chemical used to flavour vanilla vapes.
The NHS says women should not vape during pregnancy.
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Writing in the journal Human Reproduction, researchers described how they carried out lab studies.
They found that vanillin could “compromise core processes of early human development”.
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Professor Prue Talbot, study lead from the University of California Riverside, said: “These changes are potentially very serious and could prevent normal development of embryos.”
Experts urged women to pay attention to these findings and called on regulators to consider mandatory ingredient disclosure on vape packaging.
In the study, scientists exposed embryonic stem cells – from an embryo – to vanillin in a series of lab tests.
While the cells were exposed to different levels of the chemical, they found that even low doses – known as nanomolar concentrations – led to the early-stage cells losing the ability to develop into all cell types.
Embryonic stem cells were damaged by vanillin in the study Credit: Getty – Contributor
The government launched a consultation last month, proposing that vape packaging and flavour names are changed to make them less appealing Credit: AFP
What’s more, higher doses of vanillin killed these cells altogether.
Professor Talbot explained that “we focused on vanillin because it is frequently used in e-cigarette fluids, it is often used at high concentrations, and because we knew that embryonic cells had a channel called TRPV4 on their surfaces that would likely bind with vanillin”.
“Our data predicts that nanomolar concentrations of vanillin may reach the embryo in pregnant women who vape,” she added.
Authors of the study said: “Clinicians should counsel patients who are pregnant or planning pregnancy about this potential harm, and regulatory agencies should consider mandatory ingredient disclosure on e-cigarette packaging.”
Of course, no sort of vape – no matter the flavour – should be used during pregnancy. Vaping is not risk-free and the nicotine in vapes may be harmful to developing babies, the NHS says.
Reacting to the study, Jacob George, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Dundee, commented that this is a “concerning” finding that merits future clinical research.
He added: “As this is research done on embryonic cells in a lab, it will need to be further clarified in human clinical trials as laboratory findings do not necessarily always translate into clinically relevant outcomes.
“Having said that, many researchers including myself have been calling for the limiting of flavours in vapes and for further research to be done on the impact of flavourings.”
Pregnant women should not use vapes, the NHS says Credit: Getty
Smoking vs. vaping
VAPING has been touted as an effective tool to help people quit smoking.
Though vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking, the habit isn’t completely harmless and comes with its own set of risks.
The NHS only recommends it for adult smokers, to support quitting smoking.
GP and author Dr Philippa Kaye explained to The Jattvibe that the differences between vaping and smoking – and whether one is better than the other – is “complicated”.
“In a nutshell, vaping is better than smoking, but breathing air is better than vaping at all.”
Vaping exposes users to far fewer toxins – and at lower levels – than smoking cigarettes.
Switching to vaping significantly reduces your exposure to toxins that can cause cancer, lung disease, and diseases of the heart and circulation like heart attack and stroke.
These diseases are not caused by nicotine, which is relatively harmless to health. But research has still linked vaping to a higher risk of heart failure and lung disease.
Health risks of cigarettes
Smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to develop heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer
Smokers are at greater risk for diseases that affect the heart and blood vessels
Smoking can cause lung disease by damaging your airways and the small air sacs
Smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in your body
It affects overall health too, such as your mouth, eyes, immune system and fertility
Health risks of vaping
They can cause side effects such as throat and mouth irritation, headache, cough and feeling sick
They could lead to tooth decay
They could damage heart health
They could cause lung disease
They could slow brain development
Read more on how vaping can affect your health here.
Sources: NHS, CDC
Benedikt Berninger, professor of developmental neurobiology at King’s College London, said: “The authors point out that there is a risk that when vaping, mothers may inadvertently prematurely alter the fate decisions of these cells such that the embryo no longer is viable and able to develop properly, leading to miscarriage.
“However, as they acknowledge, their evidence is still very speculative as it is based on a very simplified in vitro model and also a limited set of data.”
Also reacting to these findings, Marian Knight, professor of maternal and child population health at the University of Oxford, said: “The way in which cells were exposed to the vanillin is very different from how the cells of a developing embryo might come in contact with vanillin as a result of maternal vaping.
“Many of the effects observed were evident only at levels of the chemical unlikely to reach the developing foetus of a mother who vapes.
“There were, however, some observed effects at levels which may be found in maternal blood, hence the importance of considering information like this in any discussion around vapes in pregnancy.”
While vaping is often used as a useful quit aid by adults, it is still a highly addictive habit that leaves people hooked on nicotine.
Importantly, the long-term effects of vaping are not known yet – vapes haven’t been around long enough to be sure, Cancer Research UK says.
And last month, the Government launched a UK-wide 12-week consultation, proposing that vapes can only come in three colours – white, black or grey.
What’s more, they set out plans to keep vapes out of sight in shops with restrictions on flavour names to try and stop the devices being marketed to children.
If the plans are approved, then only simple names such as “apple” will be allowed with a ban on names relating to sweets, desserts and alcohol.
