A substance used to give e-cigarettes a vanilla flavor altered human embryonic stem cells in laboratory experiments and interfered with a process linked to the initial formation of the embryo, according to a study published in the journal Human Reproduction.
The researchers found the effects at a vanillin concentration that, according to a mathematical exposure model, could be reached in maternal blood during specific vaping patterns.
The study offers insight into a question scientists have been grappling with: the already observed links between vaping, difficulties getting pregnant, and miscarriages. "There is little knowledge about how e-cigarette use may affect embryo development," the researchers stated.
