Current smoking1 can keep you from being medically cleared as a surrogate2, and nicotine vaping3 needs to stop before a surrogate pregnancy4. Today, write down what you use and ask your healthcare provider for help with quitting. I’m Vivi at LittleBee. You may have stopped cigarettes and still reach for a vape when the children are finally asleep. That is something you can explain plainly, without having to decide whether “smoker” is the right word for you.
Does vaping count if I no longer smoke cigarettes?
Yes—if your vape contains nicotine, you are still using nicotine even though you have stopped cigarettes. Medical conversations before pregnancy include vaping and other forms of nicotine use, not just cigarettes4. Answering the tobacco question means describing the products you actually use.
That includes cigarettes or cigars, a nicotine vape, nicotine pouches, and nicotine gum or patches. Say if you use something only at parties or on a difficult evening. You do not have to call it a daily habit for it to belong in the conversation. If you are unsure what a vape contains, bring the label or a photo of the packaging rather than guessing from its flavor or how it was advertised.
A vape labeled nicotine-free is also worth showing the clinic. The label tells them which product you mean; it does not give you the clinic’s permission to keep using it. Ask whether that product fits its requirements before building your plans around it.
Nicotine-containing e-cigarettes are not safe to use during pregnancy3. This is why switching products does not finish the preparation for a surrogate pregnancy. The conversation needs to reach what you use now, including something you started while trying to stop smoking.
If you use cannabis, include it too. A surrogate’s screening includes tobacco and marijuana use history1, and advice to stop marijuana when planning pregnancy includes medical marijuana5. Being legal in your state does not answer whether the clinic allows it. You can explain how and why you use it, then ask what that means for your screening.
The recommended preparation for a gestational carrier includes a complete medical evaluation by a qualified medical professional1. A truthful description gives that person something to work with. You do not need to settle your own medical suitability from an application checkbox.
How long do I need to quit, and what will the clinic test?
Get the nicotine-free period and testing requirements from the clinic that will evaluate you before you plan an application date. Another applicant’s timeline will not tell you when your own screening can go ahead.
The useful answer is more specific than “you need to quit.” You need to know what counts as nicotine use, when the required period begins, and which step you can take after completing it. That matters if you are arranging time away from work, asking someone to watch the children, or hoping to move straight from an application to matching.
Take these six questions into the same conversation:
| What I need to ask | What the answer lets me plan |
|---|---|
| Which products do you count, including vaping and products used to help me quit? | What I need to disclose before setting a screening date |
| How long do I need to be nicotine-free, when does that period start, and which step comes after it? | When to discuss an application, medical screening, or a later review |
| Will I have a nicotine test, a drug screen, or both? What sample will you need? | What the appointment includes, without assuming every drug screen tests for nicotine |
| Might I need a repeat test, and when would you ask for one? | Whether another appointment or change to my plans may be needed |
| How do you assess smoke or vape exposure around me at home, in the car, or at work? | Which everyday situation I need to discuss before screening |
| If screening is paused or a result is positive, who explains the next step, and can I be reviewed again? | Whom to contact and what to ask, instead of assuming either automatic acceptance or a permanent no |
Recommended preconception screening includes a urine drug screen1; that does not identify which nicotine test your clinic uses. Nicotine testing can reflect exposure from cigarettes, vaping, nicotine gum or patches6, and secondhand smoke7, so tell the clinic what you use and what you are around. Leave interpretation of a result to the clinician rather than trying to label it yourself.
The surrogacy screening process explains the order of the wider review, and the surrogate medical screening guide covers the visit itself. Here, the aim is to get your nicotine questions answered before committing your family’s time to those appointments.
What if someone I live with smokes?
Tell the clinic where you encounter smoke or vape aerosol, including at home, in the car, and during your workday. Your own use and the exposure around you are separate things to explain.
“Someone in my household smokes” leaves a lot unanswered. Does your partner smoke outside, or in the kitchen after the children go to bed? Do you share a car with a relative who smokes? Are you beside coworkers who smoke during a break? Describe the situation you actually have, including where vaping happens. You can do this without judging the person involved or promising a change you have not discussed with them.
Opening a window or having someone smoke in another room does not get rid of secondhand smoke exposure8. Avoiding secondhand smoke at home and work is part of preparing for pregnancy5. So “I don’t smoke myself” does not finish this part of the conversation.
Ask the clinic what it needs to change in your particular situation. Then talk at home about whether that arrangement is possible: “The clinic needs to know where smoking happens. Can we talk about what we could change in the house and car?” You do not have to produce an answer on behalf of everyone who lives with you.
If the arrangement would affect your children’s routines or how your family takes part in a surrogacy journey, the guide to surrogacy and your children can help you start that wider discussion. Before moving ahead, you should be able to describe what will happen on an ordinary evening or car ride, rather than simply hoping there will be less exposure.
How can I make quitting fit the evenings and breaks I actually have?
A plan is easier to use when it reaches the moment you usually pick up the cigarette or vape. Identify the people, places, feelings, and situations that make you want to vape, then plan for the ones you cannot avoid9.
That moment may be the first quiet part of the day, rather than a time when you feel able to take on another task. Tasha’s experience shows why the plan had to reach her evenings as well as her application.
Tasha had stopped cigarettes two years earlier but still used a nicotine vape in the evening. On the application, she paused at the tobacco question because she did not think of herself as a smoker. She chose to disclose it. The program explained that nicotine use included vaping and that the clinic required a nicotine-free period and testing. Tasha decided not to rush. She worked on quitting before completing medical screening.
That honest answer delayed her timeline, but it protected her from a failed test, a broken match, and the stress of hiding something that affected medical care. Tasha noticed she reached for the vape after putting her children to bed. She replaced that routine, removed products from the house, and told her partner what support she needed. She waited until being nicotine-free felt like part of her normal life, not a short test she had to pass. When she returned, she could describe how she would handle stress without vaping.
For your own plan, choose the moment you recognize in your day. If it is after bedtime, what help would make that part of the evening easier? If it is a work break, what will you do when the people beside you start smoking? Those are specific things to discuss with someone helping you quit.
Be clear with the people close to you about the support you want9. You might ask a partner to take over bedtime when you need a break, or ask a friend not to offer you a cigarette. Let your healthcare provider know that you are quitting, too10. Help is easier to ask for when the person knows what you are trying to get through.
For concrete help, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW for free, confidential quitline coaching11. You can talk about the situations that make quitting difficult, even if you have not worked out a plan yet.
Nicotine replacement products still contain nicotine12. Tell the clinic before using them, and ask your healthcare provider about a quit plan, nicotine replacement, or other quit-smoking medicines. Your clinician can tailor quitting support to your needs4. Ask how the help you already receive fits your plans for pregnancy.
What if I am not ready, or I start using nicotine again?
You can decide that applying for surrogacy is not the next thing to take on today. Wanting to help another family and being ready to quit are not always things that happen together.
Consider what each option would mean for you:
| Where I am now | What I could do | What it gives me | What remains uncertain |
|---|---|---|---|
| I feel ready to work on quitting and want to pursue surrogacy | Work on quitting now and delay applying | A personal goal to discuss with my healthcare provider and the people supporting me | I still need support for daily triggers; a clinic date is not settled by choosing to quit |
| I am not ready to quit or add an application to my life | Decide not to apply today | Room to consider what I want without promising an application date | My surrogacy plans stay on hold; I may still want help with nicotine use |
You can ask for help with quitting even if you are not ready to set a quit date13. There is no need to turn a first conversation into a promise that you will be ready for screening by a particular day.
If you start smoking or vaping again, a setback14 does not mean all the effort you have already made is lost15. Look at what was happening at the time and tell the person helping you quit where you need more support. You may need to change the plan for a stressful evening, a work break, or being around someone who uses nicotine.
During an application, tell your coordinator and evaluating clinic what product you used and when it happened. Your substance-use history belongs in the surrogate evaluation1. Ask what this changes about screening and whether a later review is possible. A positive result deserves an explanation of what comes next; you do not have to guess that it means either everything is fine or the application is over forever.
You can be disappointed about the timing and still tell the truth. Bring the change into the conversation while there is time to discuss it, along with the help you need to keep going.
If you are still considering an initial application, you can start your LittleBee surrogate application. I can help with your first application questions. If a clinic is already evaluating you, take questions about nicotine use, testing, or a change in your situation to that team. You can also browse our For Surrogates guides as you decide what to do next.
References
- Recommendations for practices using gestational carriers: a committee opinion (2022) — asrm.org, 2022
- Surrogacy & Gestational Carriers — lomalindafertility.com, accessed 2026-10-10
- E-Cigarettes and Pregnancy — cdc.gov, accessed 2026-10-10
- Tobacco and Nicotine Cessation During Pregnancy — acog.org, 2020
- Tobacco, Alcohol, Drugs, and Pregnancy — acog.org, accessed 2026-10-10
- Nicotine Exposure and Metabolites — arupconsult.com, accessed 2026-10-10
- Nicotine and Metabolites, Random, Urine — mayocliniclabs.com, accessed 2026-10-10
- Preventing Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in the Home — cdc.gov, accessed 2026-10-10
- Get Ready to Quit Vaping — smokefree.gov, accessed 2026-10-10
- Tips For Quitting — cdc.gov, accessed 2026-10-10
- Five Reasons Why Calling a Quitline Can Be Key to Your Success — cdc.gov, accessed 2026-10-10
- Want to Quit Smoking? FDA-Approved and FDA-Cleared Cessation Products Can Help — fda.gov, accessed 2026-10-10
- Build Your Quit Plan — smokefree.gov, accessed 2026-10-10
- Get Back on Track After a Setback — smokefree.gov, accessed 2026-10-10
- Dealing With Vape Cravings — smokefree.gov, accessed 2026-10-10
About the author: I’m Vivi, a Client Manager at LittleBee Surrogacy. I help prospective surrogates with initial application questions and coordination; the medical information here comes from the sources above.