Pregnant Women Advised to Avoid Mentholated E-Cigarettes Due to Potential Risks to Developing Baby
A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Riverside has shed light on the potential risks of vaping during pregnancy, particularly when using e-cigarettes containing the flavor chemical menthol. The findings, published in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, suggest that even low concentrations of menthol could adversely affect early stages of embryonic development.
The study utilized human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to examine how menthol influences critical cellular processes during early development. The researchers discovered that the concentration of menthol found in the blood of pregnant women who vape is sufficient to activate stress-related channels called Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channels in hESCs.
According to Shabnam Etemadi, the study’s first author and a bioengineering graduate student working with Professor Prue Talbot, the activation of these TRP channels led to several detrimental effects on the hESCs, including inhibited cell growth, increased cell death, and abnormal cell movement. These changes could potentially disrupt a crucial developmental stage known as gastrulation, which occurs during the third or fourth week of development.
Gastrulation is a critical process in which epiblast cells, which have the potential to differentiate into any cell type in the body, move to form the definitive endoderm and mesoderm. These three primary germ layers – the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm – serve as the foundation for all future organs and tissues in the developing embryo. Any disruption during gastrulation can lead to significant structural birth defects due to the misallocation of cells destined for specific tissues and organs.
The researchers specifically identified the TRPA1 channel as being activated by nanomolar concentrations of menthol, which their exposure model predicts would be present in the blood of pregnant women who vape and would reach the developing embryo.
Professor Talbot, the senior author of the research paper, emphasizes the need for further research to better understand the potential harm that vaping during pregnancy may cause to embryonic and fetal development. She also highlights the possible dangers associated with using mentholated e-cigarettes.
Given the findings of this study, pregnant women are advised to avoid using e-cigarettes, particularly those containing menthol, until the full effects of flavor chemicals on their developing embryos are thoroughly understood. The research was supported by grants from the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program and the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine.
- Press release: https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2025/03/27/pregnant-women-advised-avoid-mentholated-e-cigarettes
