E-cigarettes are devices that deliver nicotine and flavorings in an aerosol that is created by heating propylene glycol and vegetable glycerol. They may have several potential advantages over traditional NRT products, such as nicotine patches and gum that enable individuals who smoke to titrate nicotine intake to their needs and retain a degree of enjoyment that they previously obtained from smoking.
The use of e-cigarettes as a quitting aid has also increased in pregnant women who smoke although the efficacy and safety of such use is unknown. To compare the effectiveness of nicotine patches and e-cigarettes in pregnant women, a new study was conducted.
The study included 1,140 pregnant women who were trying to stop smoking and were divided into two groups. Half of the women received e-cigarettes; the other half received nicotine patches. Both approaches were equally safe. The only meaningful difference was that fewer women in the e-cigarette group had children with low birthweight (weighing less than 2,500 grams)().
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This is most likely because e-cigarettes were more effective in reducing the use of conventional cigarettes. Low birth weight has been linked with poor health later in life.
At the end of their pregnancy, women reported whether they had quit. However, some women had quit smoking using a product they were not assigned, mostly women given patches stopping with the help of e-cigarettes they had procured for themselves.
When the researchers looked at successful quitters who only used the treatment they were allocated, almost twice as many women quit with e-cigarettes than with nicotine patches. They also looked at safety outcomes, including low birth weight, baby intensive care admissions, miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature birth.
It is not clear whether nicotine is harmful to developing babies. Most health problems are caused by toxins other than nicotine in cigarettes and therefore recommends that nicotine replacement therapy (such as nicotine patches, gum, and mouth spray) is considered alongside behavioral support. However, most pregnant women still struggle to quit().
E-cigarettes seem more effective than nicotine patches in helping pregnant women to quit smoking and because of this, they seem to also lead to better pregnancy outcomes. The evidence-based advice to smokers already includes, among other options, a recommendation to switch from smoking to e-cigarettes. Such a recommendation can now be extended to smokers who are pregnant as well.
References:
- Rogers, John M. Tobacco and pregnancy: overview of exposures and effects. Birth defects research. Part C, Embryo today : reviews vol. 84,1 (2008): 1-15.(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bdrc.20119)
- Przulj D, Pesola F, Myers Smith K, McRobbie H, Coleman T, Lewis S, et al. Helping pregnant smokers quit: a multicentre randomised controlled trial of electronic cigarettes versus nicotine replacement therapy. Health Technol Assess 2023;27(13).(https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/hta/AGTH6901/#/full-report)
- Blanc, Julie et al. Nicotine Replacement Therapy during Pregnancy and Child Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review. International journal of environmental research and public health vol. 18,8 4004. 11 Apr. 2021.(https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/8/4004)
Source: Eurekalert
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