Buzz Burrell: General Practitioners Aotearoa Chair on the study showing vaping could be a factor in Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths

A new study finds vaping by mothers could be a factor in the deaths of some babies. 

Otago and Auckland University researchers say in 66 cases of Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths, three-quarters of mothers had smoked and/or vaped.  

In half of cases involving bed sharing, mothers had vaped.  

General Practitioners Aotearoa Chair Buzz Burrell told Ryan Bridge vaping would impact the baby the same way smoking does.  

He says vapes contain more than just nicotine, and that already does crazy things during pregnancy.  

The study says it's not proof, but caution should be taken while evidence develops.  

Burrell told Bridge it's tragic, and any way to reduce it should be taken.  

He says while vaping's marketed as harmless, it's not. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
New study from the University of Otago vaping around newborn's
potential higher risk of COT death. Baby dies in their sleep, unexplained.
That's basically what COT death is. Maternal vaping was reported
in half of the cases that involved direct bed sharing.
Dr Buzz Burrell General practitioners outed, oh, chieved with me
this morning, Dodor Buzz, Good.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Morning, Ryan, good morning, Good to talk to you again.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Good to have you on. So tell me what is
what is the link here between vaping and sudden from
death syndrome.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah, look, it's it's sending I think, well, we could
say a very concerning signal. There isn't a direct cause.
My skim reading of the paper is that it's had
a look at just over one hundreds of suddenly and
death and the theme very strongly emerged. Bed sharing was
still a common theme which came out, but bed sharing

(00:53):
with smoking and or vaping. Eighty five percent of the
COT best had those in common. So it's it's certainly emerging.
I think is the correct way to work as a
as a risk factor for sudden infant death and gosh,
what absolutely horrible and lifelong condition. I really appreciate your
interest in this it's it's it's it's just it's just

(01:14):
so sad and tragic, and anything we can do to
reduce the risk, we've just got to actively go for it.
I think what big message is and that this is
emerging as well, vaping is not harmless. And I think
all credits to the markets, they seem to have tried
to get that message of craft that vaping is safe.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
What's the what's actually happening here? Is the vape somehow
like the vape juice or is it that the mother
is smothering? How do the babies die?

Speaker 2 (01:44):
Yeah, good question. It's it's probably almost certainly the same
mechanism that smoking during pregnancy is getting into the baby.
So it will be a combination of the contents of
the cigarette and or the con tense of debate, and
bearing in mind that at a baby you've got a
lot of stuff in the bay. You not only got

(02:05):
the inhaled nicotine which which is doing strange things to
the to the lining of the blood vessels of the baby,
the present around the mother and that people consential unit.
But but there's there's other things that there's a there's
there's bland making this up now. But everything I think
we've got glycol, We've we've got a burnt products of
old aldehydes, that's burnt bits of metal. Every time somebody

(02:26):
is inhaving a bay product, they're inhaving all of that
and nicotine. And there's something about hating nicotine and putting
into the lungs is unique. If you put it in
the patch, if you swallow it by means of a gum,
it doesn't seem to have the same lung effects as
if you're inhaling it. So it's there's something just unique
about that.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
All right, good stuff dot well, not good stuff, I
should say, doctor Buz on last Vy on the program
this morning.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live
to News Talks it'd be from five am weekdays, or
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