Breastfeeding and Electronic Cigarettes: A Health Perspectives

Abstract

Breastfeeding practiced exclusively and/or complemented with other foods is the best practice to be adopted for the infant, since it also offers benefits to the mother, family and the entire society. However, occasionally milk can be a vehicle for transmitting harmful substances to the child, as is the case with mothers who smoke. In recent decades, there has been a large increase in the use of electronic cigarettes, whose components can be found in breast milk, mainly nicotine. Smoking is a major global public health problem and, currently, electronic cigarettes have attracted many new smokers, with increasing prevalence among younger people. Among other effects nicotine can cause bronchospasm, tachycardia, hypersecretion in bronchial tree, increased cardiac contractility and blood flow in the coronary arteries, nausea, vomiting, agitation and tremors. This article presents the main characteristics of electronic cigarettes and the nicotine and its effects on the mother and child's body, also discussing some measures to protect health and reduce the habit of using electronic cigarettes.