Vaping may unintentionally harm women’s fertility, alarming research suggests.
Experts found that female e-cigarette users have consistently lower levels of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH).
AMH roughly indicates a woman’s egg supply and acts as a fertility marker.
Scientists today urged women who vape to quit the habit completely to avoid “thwarting” their chances of getting pregnant.
Dr Helen O’Neill, professor of reproductive and molecular genetics at University College London, said: “This is the first evidence to show a link between fertility and vaping in a large population.”
Experts found that female e-cigarette users have consistently lower levels of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH). AMH roughly indicates a woman’s egg supply and acts as a fertility marker. Scientists today urge women who vape to quit the habit completely to avoid “thwarting” their chances of getting pregnant.
“This demonstrates that AMH is suppressed in vapers compared to non-vapers, similar to what has already been shown in smokers.”
The NHS only recommends vaping during pregnancy as an alternative to smoking, which is considered more dangerous for the fetus.
However, the health service acknowledges that the risks of vaping during pregnancy are still unknown and that it is best for expectant mothers to stop vaping completely, if possible.
Some studies have warned of an increased risk of miscarriages.
But the fertility risks of vaping are even less understood.
The new study, not published in a medical journal, analyzed blood samples from more than 8,000 women.
There are no other details of the investigation, first reported by The timeswere shared.
Figures released last week also suggest vaping use among women aged 18 to 45 has more than tripled in a decade.
One in five (19.7 percent) used e-cigarettes in 2023, up from 5.1 percent in 2013.
Hertility, a women’s reproductive health clinic, found that 22 percent of women actively trying to conceive admitted to vaping regularly or occasionally.
According to their survey, more than one in four (27 percent) who hope to have children in the future also said they used e-cigarettes.
Dr O’Neill, chief executive of Hertility, said women planning to become pregnant should be given clear instructions “not drinking, not vaping, not smoking, not doing drugs”.
However, evidence has suggested that AMH levels are a poor predictor of current and future fertility in women, as the test does not provide an indication of egg quality or the rate of decline in egg count. .
An Australian study published last year in the journal JAMA Network Open said AMH tests, which are widely available online, are unlikely to be useful for individual women because of the wide age range they cover.
E-cigarettes allow people to inhale nicotine in vapor form, which is produced by heating a liquid.
YouUnlike traditional cigarettes, they do not contain tobacco nor do they produce tar or carbon, two of the most dangerous elements and partly why they are considered a safer alternative.
Rising rates of use among children have raised fears that younger generations are sleepwalking toward a public health crisis.
Data shows that one in five children has tried vaping, while the number of young people using these devices has tripled in the last three years.
This despite the fact that it is illegal to sell a vaporizer to those under 18 years of age.
Earlier this month, MailOnline also revealed that the number of adverse side effects related to vaping reported to UK regulators has surpassed 1,000, five of them fatal.
All five deaths were related to respiratory and cardiovascular health problems.
Some reported digestive problems such as diarrhea or flatulence, and even one case of rectal bleeding, related to vaping use.
A woman, or her doctor, also reported suffering a miscarriage while using a vaporizer.