E-Cigarettes: Effects on the Fetus

Abstract

1. Nan Jiang, PhD* 2. Lily Lee†,§ 3. Judith T. Zelikoff, PhD‡ 4. Michael Weitzman, MD†,‡,¶,** 1. *Department of Population Health, 2. †Department of Pediatrics, 3. ‡Department of Environmental Medicine, School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY 4. ¶College of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY 5. §Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY 6. **NYU Abu Dhabi Public Health Research Center, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 1. 1. Lauterstein D, 2. Hoshino R, 3. Gordon T, 4. Watkins BX, 5. Weitzman M, 6. Zelikoff J The Changing Face of Tobacco Use Among United States Youth. Lauterstein D, Hoshino R, Gordon T, Watkins BX, Weitzman M, Zelikoff J. Curr Drug Abuse Rev. 2014;7(1):29–43 [OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3] 2. 1. Nguyen KH, 2. Tong VT, 3. Marynak KL, 4. King BA US Adults' Perceptions of the Harmful Effects during Pregnancy of Using Electronic Vapor Products Versus Smoking Cigarettes, Styles Survey, 2015. Nguyen KH, Tong VT, Marynak KL, King BA. Prev Chronic Dis. 2016;13:E175 [OpenUrl][4] 3. 1. McGrath-Morrow SA, 2. Hayashi M, 3. Aherrera A, 4. et al. The Effects of Electronic Cigarette Emissions on Systemic Cotinine Levels, Weight and Postnatal Lung Growth in Neonatal Mice. McGrath-Morrow SA, Hayashi M, Aherrera A, et al. PLoS One. 2015;10(2):e0118344 [OpenUrl][5][CrossRef][6][PubMed][7] The emergence of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) as devices touted to be helpful in the cessation or reduction of smoking has prompted many concerns about the prevalence and consequences of their use during pregnancy. Both pregnant women and health-care providers are poorly informed or misinformed about the potential health risks associated with e-cigarettes, which has profound consequences on clinical conversations about the product. Unfortunately, the scientific literature has not yet caught up with the rise in e-cigarette use. The safety of e-cigarettes to the mother and fetus is largely unknown, with a handful of human studies finding minimal health effects. In large part, concerns about e-cigarettes have been the result of the adverse health effects associated with nicotine during pregnancy, which include low birthweight, abnormal corpus callosum, and alterations in appetite, attention, and cognition. Although the health consequences of e-cigarette use during pregnancy remain poorly understood, it is imperative that health-care providers are well equipped to initiate conversations about e-cigarette use with pregnant women and women of childbearing age to discourage use during pregnancy as an aid to quitting smoking. E-cigarettes are the most commonly used, newly developed electronic nicotine delivery systems. They are battery-powered vaporizers that heat a liquid solution (typically containing nicotine, glycerol, propylene glycol, flavorings, and other additives) to deliver an aerosol for user inhalation with the intention of imitating conventional cigarettes. Since their introduction to the US market in 2007, e-cigarette use has increased rapidly among youths and adults. E-cigarettes are widely advertised and often are promoted as less harmful alternatives to cigarettes and also as effective smoking cessation tools, which has considerable … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DCurr%2BDrug%2BAbuse%2BRev%26rft.volume%253D7%26rft.spage%253D29%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.2174%252F1874473707666141015220110%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F25323124%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.2174/1874473707666141015220110&link_type=DOI [3]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=25323124&link_type=MED&atom=%2Fpedsinreview%2F39%2F3%2F156.atom [4]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DPrev%2BChronic%2BDis%26rft.volume%253D13%26rft.spage%253DE175%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [5]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DPLoS%2BOne%26rft.volume%253D10%26rft.spage%253De0118344%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1371%252Fjournal.pone.0118344%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F25706869%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [6]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1371/journal.pone.0118344&link_type=DOI [7]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=25706869&link_type=MED&atom=%2Fpedsinreview%2F39%2F3%2F156.atom