Can you smoke vapes while on birth control? (You need to know about the risks)

Nowadays, it’s widely recognized that smoking is bad for your health, and it’s also known to increase the risk of health complications when using certain birth control methods.

But what about when it comes to vapes? It’s an industry that hasn’t received much scientific attention, but to help you understand what we know. We’ve provided you with all the information you need in this article to answer the following question: can you smoke vapes while on birth control?

Vaping and contraception

Because vapes are relatively new, there is very little scientific research on their efficacy in combination with birth control.

However, there is a lot of research on the interaction of smoking and contraception. So let’s talk about this topic first as it may allow us to compare it to absorbing vapes while using birth control pills.

 

Is cigarette tar harmful?

Today, it is widely recognized that smoking and the use of other cigarette products are extremely harmful to your health.

Cigarettes are known to be a leading cause of cancer and can also lead to a range of other serious or fatal health problems related to the cardiovascular system.

However, while nicotine in tobacco is known as the addictive component of cigarettes (and it is only slightly less lazy than opioids), tobacco tar is not the main harmful compound in cigarettes.

Instead, the harms of tobacco smoke come from going beyond the harms of tobacco smoke 5,000 Other harmful chemicals and carbon monoxide are released when tobacco is burned.

(This is one of the main reasons vapes are considered safer than smoking – because users can smoke tobacco tar without all the other harmful effects of smoking.)

Even so, smoke tar does have some potentially harmful physiological effects.

For example, smoking tar can cause elevated blood pressure and increased heart rate, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

So, while smoke tar itself is not the most harmful element of smoking, it is still a strongly addictive drug with some attendant risks.

How does nicotine in tobacco affect contraception?

When considering contraception, smoking, or vaping vapes, the important point is how they combine to have a physiological effect on the body. Now let’s take a look at this.

If you use hormonal birth control methods, including pellets, patches, and rings, these methods may also have similar effects on the tobacco tar in your body, such as a faster heart rate or increased blood pressure.

This is because all of these birth control methods contain estrogen. Which is an effective method of preventing unwanted pregnancies but can also have some side effects.

The advantages of these convenient and reliable birth control methods for young girls or non-smoking women far outweigh the disadvantages.

However, when combined with cigarette tar, their effects are multiplied, thus reducing their safety and acceptable risk.

In addition, estrogen causes blood changes that, when combined with smoke tar, increase the risk of thrombosis.

Therefore, the medical consensus is that hormonal contraceptives are not recommended for women over 35 smoking age and not recommended for smokers under 35 suffering from diseases such as high blood pressure or diabetes.

This means that if you are a smoker you fall into one of these categories. It is recommended that you consult your doctor for advice on other safer and more appropriate methods of contraception.

What are other types of contraception?

So far, we’ve been looking at the effects of smoking on women’s use of estrogen-based hormonal contraceptives – but what about other methods?

One of the most common methods of contraception is the combination pill, which contains estrogen and progesterone.

However, there are also birth control pills that contain only progesterone. Although these may be slightly less reliable than the pill. They do not produce the same side effects as the pill and so may be preferable to the use of the pill for smokers.

Another possibility is the copper IUD, which is known as a safer method of contraception for smokers because it does not rely on estrogen.

Ultimately, barrier contraceptive methods, including condoms, spermicides, sponges, diaphragms, and cervical caps, are considered safe contraceptive methods for smokers.

The downside is that these methods may not be as reliable as hormonal contraceptive methods, but they are still preferable to the possible adverse effects of hormonal contraceptive methods on smokers’ health.

When it comes to choosing the best birth control method for you. The best advice is always to consult a health professional before making a final decision.

So, how does smoking vapes affect contraception?

As we mentioned, there are very few scientific studies on the effects of vapes on contraception as they have been around for a relatively short period and have only become popular in the last few years.

Therefore, we cannot provide scientific advice on how vapes and contraceptive methods interact.

However, since tobacco and many vapes contain tobacco tar, tobacco tar in combination with some contraceptive methods is a major concern. We can draw some reasonable conclusions and provide some meaningful guidelines.

If you use vapes, then you will not be exposed to the various harmful effects of inhaling combustible cigarettes due to the harmful compounds contained in combustible cigarettes.

However, you will be exposed to the negative effects of tobacco tar – if you combine this with estrogen-based birth control. The risk may increase exponentially, just as it would if you were to ingest tobacco tar through smoking.

This means that if you’re a vape user, – especially if you’re over the age of 35 or suffer from a condition like diabetes or high blood pressure that could put you at higher risk. You should consider other methods of birth control, such as an IUD or barrier contraception.

Again, if you’re not sure which method is safer and more appropriate. You should make an appointment with a healthcare professional for the best advice.

However, it’s worth noting that if you use nicotine-free vapes, all the factors associated with contraception and tobacco tar use won’t apply, so the risks are likely to be minimal.

How long does it take to quit smoking or vaping?

Assuming you are a smoker who wants to quit, you will begin to experience the benefits of quitting almost immediately after the last tobacco or vape.

After just 20 minutes or so, your heart rate will drop, and after 12 hours. The carbon monoxide level in your blood will return to normal. Over the next few weeks and months, your risk of heart disease will begin to decrease and your lung function will begin to improve.

So, the first point here is that it’s never too late to quit smoking.

However, when it comes to contraception, if you plan to quit smoking or stop smoking vape. The negative effects will soon wear off, so you may want to consider starting hormonal contraceptives right away – or a few weeks later to be sure.

But there’s an important caveat to keep in mind – because quitting smoking or vapes is easier said than done.

If you only smoke cigarettes or vapes occasionally and know that you can quit – or if you’re convinced that you have the willpower to quit altogether – you can start using estrogen-based birth control as soon as you smoke your last cigarette or vape.

However, if you have tried to quit smoking before and failed, you may be at increased risk for cardiovascular complications if you start using estrogen-based birth control but then smoke or vape vapes again.

If you are concerned about relapse, it is best to wait a time after you last smoked or vaped vapes to ensure that relapse is less likely – and in any case, it is always best to consult with your doctor for advice and support on such decisions.

CBD or THC What do vapes do for contraception?

Speaking of CBD or THC There is less research on how vapes interact with contraception, so we can only draw a vague conclusion.

Inhaling marijuana causes an increase in blood pressure. So it’s reasonable to assume that marijuana may interact with estrogenic contraceptives such as tobacco tar – although it’s important to note that there’s no scientific evidence to support this claim.

If you inhale CBD or especially THC, which means good, heart rate and blood pressure may also be elevated, so you may be at similar risk.

However, since no science can prove or disprove this, right now, everyone has to weigh the risks for themselves and then make a decision.

Lack of scientific information, but probably not recommended

As we’ve seen, there is very little scientific information about the safety of absorbing vapes while using birth control pills.

However, if you use a vape brand that contains tobacco tar, it makes sense to follow the same contraceptive recommendations. The effects of tobacco tar in combination with estrogen-based contraception are much better known.