Vaping and birth control: what are the risks?

What is vaping?

Vaping is the use of an electronic device (called an e-cigarette) which is designed to simulate cigarette smoking but without the tobacco. Tobacco contains chemicals like tar, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde which can have significant negative impacts on your health. E-cigarettes or vapes contain a battery, heating element and liquid. The liquid contains solvent chemicals, flavourings and nicotine in varying doses¹.

Since vaping and e-cigarettes were introduced in 2005, their popularity has grown dramatically, and the number of young people who vape has tripled in the last 3 years².

Can vaping help to stop smoking cigarettes?

Vaping has been suggested as a way to help people quit smoking cigarettes. Stopping smoking is very important for your overall health. Smoking leads to over 80,000 deaths a year, including 1 in 4 deaths from cancer, and costs the UK economy £17 billion a year. Just imagine how many women’s health hubs we could build with that amount of money – more motivation to quit!

Studies have shown that e-cigarettes may be better at supporting people to quit smoking than other nicotine replacement products like gums or patches BUT many more people continue to vape longterm. 80% of those who quit smoking are still vaping after 1 year, compared to only 9% of people using other nicotine replacement products after 1 year³.

Is vaping harmful?

As vaping is a relatively new thing, there isn’t much research on the harm it could cause in the long term. Studies so far have suggested that using e-cigarettes may increase your risk of having a heart attack⁴ and unregulated or illegal e-cigarettes have caused severe lung problems which have led to deaths⁵.

However, on the flip side, research has shown that vaping does seem to be better for you than smoking cigarettes. Cigarette smoking exposes your body to more carcinogens (chemicals which can cause cancer) than vaping⁶. (But you should also know that vaping still exposes you to more carcinogens than not vaping!) Studies have shown that patients with a lung condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have significant improvement in their breathing tests if they switch from cigarette smoking to vaping.⁶

That being said, vaping is still not recommended, as you are still introducing nicotine and other potentially harmful chemicals into your body. There has been a rapid increase in the number of people taking up vaping who have never smoked cigarettes, with now around 1 million people in the UK choosing to do so, a seven times increase in just 3 years⁷.

So with vaping and e-cigarettes growing in popularity, we’re here to help explain if vaping can affect your birth control or your choice of contraceptive.

Does vaping affect birth control?

Are there any dangers of vaping on birth control?

As there is still so little long term data about vaping, it’s unclear if it is dangerous while taking birth control or contraception. Some health risks of birth control include a small increased risk of cardiovascular disease (affecting the heart and blood vessels) and blood clots (particularly those in the veins of the legs or lungs).

Due to the limited research, experts cannot confidently say whether vaping increases these health risks or not. So to be safe, they advise that vaping while on birth control should be treated the same as smoking cigarettes while on birth control^8,9.

Can vaping on birth control kill you?

Despite there being limited research on vaping and birth control, there is no suggestion that vaping on birth control can kill you. However, vaping could increase your risk of medical conditions that can affect your health, and rarely, can lead to death, including blood clots and cardiovascular disease. Your healthcare professional is the best person to advise on the choice of contraception that is safest for you.

Can vaping and birth control cause blood clots?

The honest answer is that we don’t know. Smoking cigarettes while using combined hormonal contraception can increase your risk of blood clots. It’s possible that vaping could increase this risk too. Until we have more data, if you are worried about blood clots, or have risk factors for blood clots, you may wish to choose a progestogen-only or non-hormonal form of birth control if you vape.

Risk factors for blood clots include:

• Being over 50 years old
• Having a BMI over 30
• Smoking, especially if over the age of 35
• Having 1st degree family members (parent or sibling) who have had a blood clot
• Long periods of immobility, for example, major surgery or wheelchair use

Your healthcare professional is there to help discuss and weigh up any risks of blood clots to choose the safest method for you.

Vaping and the pill

There are 2 different types of contraceptive pill – the combined pill (which contains oestrogen and progestogen) and the progestogen-only pill. The synthetic oestrogen found in the combined pill can slightly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. As smoking also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, healthcare professionals will ask you about smoking and vaping when you start birth control and at each review.

If you vape, your healthcare professional will assess your medical history and family history. If you are under the age of 35, and have no other risk factors for cardiovascular disease or blood clots, you can be offered both combined or progestogen-only pills. The progestogen-only pill has a lower risk than the combined pill if you smoke or vape under the age of 35 BUT you can still be offered combined hormonal contraception as the benefits of preventing pregnancy generally outweigh the risks of smoking or vaping.

However, over the age of 35, the risks of smoking or vaping increase, so your healthcare professional will recommend a non-hormonal or progestogen-only option as these are safer options with fewer risks. If you’re using a combined hormonal contraceptive that contains oestrogen – it’s best not to take up vaping! But if you do, speak to your healthcare professional about switching to a safer option

If you vape or use e-cigarettes, you will be assessed as if you smoke cigarettes and may not be able to safely use the combined pill. However, the progestogen-only pill is safe to use while smoking, and therefore is still safe to use if you vape.

Vaping and the patch

The patch is another form of combined contraception that contains synthetic oestrogen. Therefore your healthcare professional may not recommend this if you vape over the age of 35.

Vaping and the implant

The implant, alongside all other types of progestogen only contraception, is safe to use if you smoke or use e-cigarettes. Examples of progestogen-only contraception include:

• The progestogen-only pill (mini pill)
• The implant
• The injection
• The hormonal coil

Can I vape on birth control if I’m under 35?

If you are under the age of 35 and smoke cigarettes or vape, you are able to use either combined or progestogen-only forms of birth control.

Can I vape on birth control if I’m over 35?

Over the age of 35, your risk of cardiovascular disease (including heart attacks or strokes) and blood clots in the legs or lungs increases. Smoking cigarettes also increases your risk of cardiovascular disease and blood clots. Using combined hormonal contraception such as the combined pill, patch or vaginal ring, further increases this risk so they are not safe for you to use if you are over the age of 35 and smoke or vape.

If you are over the age of 35 and smoke or vape, you can safely use:

• The progestogen-only pill
• The implant
• The injection
• The hormonal coil
• Non-hormonal contraceptives like the copper coil, condoms or fertility awareness methods

Vaping and birth control is complicated. While we encourage people to stop smoking cigarettes, and understand that e-cigarettes can help achieve this, we wouldn’t recommend vaping. Until we have many more years of data about the effect of vaping and birth control on your health, we can’t give any clearer advice. But for now, if you do vape, speak to your healthcare professional and discuss the safest choice of contraceptive for you.