A landmark study has found that vaping may damage fertility and has suggested women should give it up if they want to get pregnant.
A study of thousands of blood samples has found that vapers and smokers have lower levels of anti-mullerian hormone (AMH), which provides an indictor of how many eggs women have left in their ovaries.
The report by women’s health firm Hertility is the first time AMH levels have been linked to e-cigarettes or vapes, the Times reports.
New figures show that one in five British women vape while trying to get pregnant, despite the risks.
The Hertility study was based on data from 325,000 women, most of whom were aged in their twenties or thirties.
Some 27 per cent of woman in the study who hoped to have children in the future vaped.
A similar number said they smoke cigarettes, which has already been proven to harm fertility.
The report’s author said women should be advised to quit vaping to avoid harming their chances of getting pregnant.
Dr Helen O’Neill, a lecturer in reproductive and molecular genetics at UCL said: “This is the first piece of evidence to show a link between fertility and vaping across a large population.
“It shows that AMH is suppressed in vapers compared to non-vapers, in a similar way to what has already been shown in smokers.
“AMH is a hormone used to assess ovarian [egg] reserve, and therefore fertility.”
The doctor advised that women are giving clear guidance of “no drinking, no vaping, no smoking, no drugs”.
The study also analysed blood samples from 8,340 women and found that women of all age groups had lower AMH levels if they vaped, suggesting the habit could speed up age-related decline in eggs.
Doctor O’Neill added: “Most people are not aware of any link between lifestyle vices and fertility. But it’s important people understand there is so much that can be done to increase your chance of having family — especially in the three months prior to getting pregnant. For both men and women.
“Trying to drink in moderation can be a slippery slope when it comes to volumes and intake of wine or alcohol in a week. The best advice is to stop, as opposed to cutting down or trying in moderation.”
She added that many women “ramp up their social lives” and drinking in the year before getting pregnant, due to negative attitudes about the loss of freedom parents have once they have a child.
Previous studies have found that the chemicals used in e-cigarettes have been linked to damage to sperm.
