Potential effects of using non-combustible tobacco and nicotine products during pregnancy: a systematic review.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to assess the risks of smoke-free nicotine and tobacco products, including chewing tobacco, during pregnancy compared to smoking or no nicotine use.
Results Summary
The study found that smoke-free nicotine products likely increase the risk of negative birth outcomes but less than smoking, though precise risk estimates remain uncertain due to epidemiological limitations.
Population
Pregnant women using smoke-free nicotine or tobacco products.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
smoking tobacco | increase | pregnancy outcomes | pregnant women | - | substantial harms | #1 |
nicotine alone | increase | pregnancy outcomes | pregnant women | - | somewhat harmful | #2 |
smoke-free nicotine products | increase | pregnancy outcomes | pregnant women | - | fall somewhere in the range between zero risk to the risk from smoking | #3 |
smoke-free product use during pregnancy | increase | some negative birth outcomes | pregnant women | - | probably increases the risk | #4 |
smoke-free product use during pregnancy | increase | negative birth outcomes | pregnant women | - | any effect is less than that from smoking | #5 |
smoke-free nicotine and tobacco | decrease | pregnancy outcomes | pregnant women | - | risks are lower than those for smoking | #6 |
smoke-free nicotine and tobacco | increase | risks | pregnant women | - | suggests they are non-zero | #7 |
BACKGROUND: The range of risk reduced alternatives to smoking tobacco is increasing and so is use among pregnant women. The substantial harms of smoking during pregnancy are well established and there is reason to believe that nicotine alone is somewhat harmful. Differences in the exposure chemistry strongly suggest that the effects of using smoke-free nicotine products (including pharmaceutical nicotine products, smokeless tobacco, and electronic cigarettes containing nicotine) fall somewhere in the range between zero risk to the risk from smoking. How much lower risk these consumption choices are in terms of pregnancy outcomes, however, remains uncertain. METHODS: We reviewed the literature on smoke-free nicotine and tobacco product exposure and birth-outcome endpoints. Studies were included if they compared outcomes to either no nicotine use or smoking. We searched Google Scholar using broad search terms and additional articles were snowballed from citations. We report what could be learned from each study, given its methods. RESULTS: Of the 21 studies reviewed, 12 reported on the use of nicotine replacement therapies, 7 on Swedish snus, 1 on Alaskan iq'mik, and 1 on e-cigarettes. The range of results tends to support the prediction that smoke-free product use during pregnancy probably increases the risk of some negative birth outcomes, but that any effect is less than that from smoking. However, the limitations of epidemiology are such that no more-precise a conclusion is possible. DISCUSSION: The available epidemiology does not change our prior beliefs, based on other evidence and knowledge, that the risks from smoke-free nicotine and tobacco are lower than those for smoking, though it suggests they are non-zero. However, it also demonstrates that the epidemiology is unlikely to provide precise quantitative estimates. This is not just a matter of lack of studies; given the inherent limitation of these studies, doubling or tripling the corpus of available studies would add little precision. For the foreseeable future, decisions about using these products will need to be made based on rough estimates, based on a variety of forms of evidence, and qualitative comparisons.