A new analysis of trial data among pregnant smokers by researchers at Queen Mary University of London found that regular use of nicotine replacement products during pregnancy was not associated with adverse pregnancy events or adverse pregnancy outcomes.

The study, published in the journal Addiction, used data from more than 1,100 pregnant smokers from 23 hospitals in England and a smoking cessation service in Scotland to compare pregnancies in women who regularly used vapes or nicotine patches during pregnancy. result. Studies have found that regular use of nicotine products does not have any adverse effects on mothers or their babies.

Lead researcher Professor Peter Hayek, from the Wolfson Institute of Population Health at Queen Mary University of London, said: “This trial answers two important questions, one practical and the other about our understanding of the risks of smoking.”

He said: “Vape helps pregnant smokers quit cigarettes without any detectable risk to pregnancy compared to stopping smoking without further nicotine use. Therefore, the use of nicotine-containing aids during pregnancy Tools for quitting smoking appear to be safe. The harm of cigarette use in pregnancy, at least in late pregnancy, appears to be due to other chemicals in tobacco smoke rather than nicotine.”

The study was conducted by researchers from Queen Mary University of London, the University of New South Wales (Australia), the University of Nottingham, St George’s University London, the University of Stirling, the University of Edinburgh and King’s College London, as well as St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Data collected from the Vape and Nicotine Patch Pregnancy Test (PREP) randomized controlled trial funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NIHR) were analyzed.