Christopher ColemanThere are a lot of reasons why women should quit smoking, especially when pregnant. However, should pregnant women switch to the use of vaping instead of cigarettes?
Here are some of the objections that experts say regarding encouraging women to switch from cigarettes to vape.
Smoking can cause cot death, underweight, miscarriages, and other congenital disabilities in babies because when they are exposed to smoke, they are getting exposed to toxins that are very much harmful to them.
When questioned about the use of vaping while pregnant, a health expert states that e-cigarettes have fewer toxic ingredients and lower levels than cigarettes. Hence, it is safer for pregnant women to use compared to traditional cigarette products, and also, no evidence suggests that nicotine is harmful to unborn children.
As stated by Professor Linda Bauld back in 2015, the same harm reduction approach in adult smokers applies to pregnant women wherein vaping is less harmful than cigarettes.
However, this is only best if the only choice available is smoking cigarettes or vaping because of the lack of data about pregnancy safety.
By the end of the day, vaping is fairly new so not enough evidence can be used to conclusively say whether it can be harmful to babies or not. But, it is better to err on the side of caution just to be safe.
