Source : Perth Now news
A popular vanilla vape flavour could potentially harm unborn babies, scientists have warned.
Researchers found that vanillin, the chemical commonly used to create vanilla flavour in e-cigarettes, may interfere with crucial processes involved in early human development.
The study, published in Human Reproduction, involved laboratory tests on embryonic stem cells. Scientists exposed the cells to different concentrations of vanillin and found that even low doses affected their ability to develop into different cell types.
At higher concentrations, the cells died.
Professor Prue Talbot, the study’s lead from the University of California Riverside, said: “These changes are potentially very serious and could prevent normal development of embryos.”
The researchers said vanillin was chosen because it is frequently used in e-cigarette liquids and can be present at relatively high concentrations.
Professor Talbot said: “Our data predicts that nanomolar concentrations of vanillin may reach the embryo in pregnant women who vape.”
The authors of the study urged healthcare professionals to discuss the findings with women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy and called for vape ingredients to be clearly disclosed.
They wrote: “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.”
However, experts stressed that the research does not prove vaping vanilla flavours causes harm to human pregnancies.
Jacob George, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Dundee, described the findings as “concerning” but said more research was needed.
Per The Sun, 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.”
Benedikt Berninger, professor of developmental neurobiology at King’s College London, is quoted by the publication as saying the evidence was “very speculative” because it relied on a simplified laboratory model.
According to The Sun, Marian Knight, professor of maternal and child population health at the University of Oxford, warning that the exposure in the experiment was different from how an embryo would encounter vanillin through maternal vaping.
The National Health Service (NHS) advises women not to vape during pregnancy. Nicotine itself can harm developing babies, while the long-term effects of vaping remain uncertain.
The researchers said their findings should nevertheless prompt further investigation into vape flavourings and pregnancy.
