Pregnancy comes with a lot of terms and conditions and is often defined as the most crucial stage for a woman's and her child's health alike. During the course of pregnancy, women are advised to not consume alcohol and preferably stop smoking.
However, pregnant women in London didn't seem to stop smoking at all, so much so that the London council has decided to give these women free vapes so that they can stop spending on cigarettes. Here's what happened.
South London Council has decided to hand free vapes to pregnant women to stop them from spending money on cigarettes, apparently. The Council is reportedly hoping that in the future, parents will be able to save around 2,000 euros through the "stop smoking" service.
A Daily Star report said that "smoking during pregnancy is the leading risk factor for poor birth outcomes, including stillbirth, miscarriage, and pre-term birth," a council spokesman said. Data showed that women, mostly from low-income households, are much more likely to smoke in pregnancy. The council is planning to hand out and promote the use of e-cigarettes, or vapes, for women who choose that route as their preferred aid for quitting tobacco since it is deemed less harmful as compared to smoking.
The council claims that it can help them become smoke-free.?
Ben Kind, LambethĄ¯s councillor with special responsibility for children and young people, wrote about the matter: "The council is soon to start providing free vape products, as part of the stop smoking service, to smokers who are pregnant and/or are carers of young children." The service is aimed at improving the families' health and saving money in the process of approximately ?2,000 per year per family. Reportedly, it is estimated that over 3,000 households in Lambeth fall under the poverty line due to smoking.?
The National Health Service in?London?has reminded people that there is little research done on the safety of vapes during pregnancy. The?health service also informed that if pregnant women feel unable to give up altogether, patches or gum are recommended options, and not vapes.?"It is not known whether the vapour is harmful to a baby in pregnancy.?If you're pregnant, licenced NRT products such as patches and gum are the recommended option to help you stop smoking," the NHS website reads.
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