How exactly does vaping affect your fertility? Here's what you should know.

Vaping was first introduced in Australia as an aid for people to quit smoking, but, as time’s gone on we’ve learned they’re just as terrible for our health.

Vapes or E-cigarettes are relatively new on the market, which means the long-term effects are still widely unknown, researchers are investigating exactly how these flavoured devices may be affecting the body, and more specifically our ability to conceive children.

According to John Hopkins Medicine, there’s been an outbreak of lung illnesses and even deaths associated with vaping. Users have complained of headaches, heart palpitations, irritability, mouth and throat irritation, nausea, vomiting and dry skin - and that's not all. We now know fertility is on the line, in both women and men.

Image: Getty

For some time now vapes have been considered the healthier alternative to cigarettes, but that mindset needs to stop, Kin Fertility general practitioner, Dr Kirsty Wallace-Hor told Elle Australia.

"The reality is that there are no nicotine vaping products currently approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)," Dr Kirsty told the publication, yet they’re so easily accessible.

"The components in these products vary widely between different manufacturers, leading to concerns that people don't fully know what they're vaping."

All vapes can affect hormonal balance, morphology and how our reproductive organs function. For example, vapes can make it difficult for an embryo to implant in the uterus.

"The labelling on products can't always be trusted, for example, many alleged nicotine-free liquids have been found to contain nicotine. Different e-liquids have also been found to contain carcinogenic substances and potentially harmful metals such as lead and mercury."

Image: Canva

All those nasty chemicals, some of which can be found in paint strippers and fertiliser, are the enemy. "Nicotine has been shown to reduce offspring numbers and result in abnormal or delayed implantation of fertilised eggs in mice studies - similar harms have also been found in nicotine-free flavoured vapes."

OC Fertility reported that a study published in the Journal for Endocrine Society also indicated that vaping while pregnant can cause medical issues and developmental abnormalities in babies.

While some of us would think not vaping while pregnant is a no-brainer, others are of the mind that trading their traditional cigarettes for e-cigarettes during pregnancy is a safe move – but let it be known, smoking anything while pregnant is a huge no-no.

Chemicals like nitrosamines and di ethylene glycol cause physical changes, “such as metabolic, inflammatory, pulmonary, and neurological changes that can affect fertility. Toxins can also damage the ovarian follicles and nicotine causes damage to eggs and egg quality as they are developing,” OC Fertility explained.

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For men, vaping can reduce their sperm count. According to Conceive Health, studies on “light” nicotine users caused sperm motility to decrease by 14 per cent, while sperm viability decreased by 30 per cent. Abnormal morphology increased by six per cent, and oxidative damage was measurable in blood levels.

You see sperm is highly sensitive to oxidative stress, and that develops from these free radicals, better known as the aforementioned toxic chemicals.

Vaping in Australia has been deemed an epidemic. A recent study published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health found that, of the more than 100 participants aged 15 to 24 years old, almost half had vaped, and 33 per cent said they'd used a vape in the past year. Another 14 per cent said they were current users.

As mentioned, research into the effects of vaping is still very new, so we can only expect more bad news on the long-term effects to surface down the track.

Feature Image: Getty + Mamamia.

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