Pregnant women are being warned about the dangers of using e-cigarettes.
A new study says it can lead to an increased risk of asthma in children.
But the Irish Vape Vendors Association is criticising the research and says vaping is a safer alternative to smoking.
Vaping and E-cigarettes are often seen as a safer option to smoking but this latest research has called that into question.
The study - by researchers at the University of Technology in Australia - exposed pregnant mice to vaping with and without nicotine.
It found it increased the risk of the mice developing asthma in their offspring.
The lead researcher says it shows using e-cigarettes during pregnancy is dangerous and action is needed to remove the view that they are safe.
The Irish Cancer Society believes pregnant women shouldn’t smoke or vape.
Head of services is Donal Buggy: "It's not easy to quit smoking but there is help out there to quit smoking - and the best thing that you can do for your child is to quit smoking during pregnancy."
But the Irish Vape Vendors Association is criticising the research, saying all the study shows is that pregnant mice shouldn’t vape.
Spokesperson Gillian Golden: "What some of these mouse studies do is they subject the mouse model, or even sometimes mouse cells, to far more exposure of vapour than a human would ever get".
Stephanie Grogan reports:
