Women who smoke and take birth control have a higher risk of developing a blood clot or having a stroke or heart attack. Smoking alone is associated with many types of cancers, lung disease, and decreased fertility. The absolute best thing to do is quit smoking. Visit https://smokefree.gov/ to receive support and quit for good.
If you're unable to quit and you're under 35 years old, our doctors may be able to write you a prescription. If you're over 35, they'll discuss all your options with you. Just be sure to be honest with us if you do smoke, so we can make sure your prescription is safest for you.
As for vaping nicotine, not enough research has been conducted to show that vaping or e-cigarettes are any safer than traditional cigarettes, so the current recommendation is to treat the risk as the same.
The commonality between traditional cigarettes and e-cigarettes is the presence of nicotine. It is a highly addictive substance that raises your blood pressure and spikes your adrenaline, which as a result, increases your heart rate—all of which combined can increase your chances of having a heart attack.
Similarly, vaping marijuana has not been researched enough to know whether or not it is safe. One consideration is that smoking marijuana can lead to increased blood pressure, which, when combined with some kinds of hormonal birth controls that can also have the same effect, may increase your risk overall.
You can read more about smoking, vaping and marijuana on our blog.