Search Results for: cigarette smoking
How Does Cigarette Smoke Affect Growth?
Smoking will stunt your growth. It’s a warning that has passed from generations of parents to children. But does science support the claim? In fact, researchers have found that smoking can affect growth throughout a person’s life, sometimes in ways that may surprise you. But it should be no surprise that smoking poses the greatest threat to the development of children and unborn babies.
Smoking While Pregnant
Smoking during pregnancy is more than an unhealthy habit. It can cause serious complications for the mother, such as placental abruption, as well as lifelong complications for the baby. Cigarettes contain more than 4,000 toxic chemicals including cyanide, lead and numerous cancer-causing compounds, such as nicotine. These chemicals pose dangerous health risks that every mother should take seriously.
Cigarettes, Booze and Kids
Two Sundays ago, I picked up my nine-year-old daughter from a girly girl sleepover birthday party at her friend Jo-Jos, five minutes from our house. In addition to her rumpled pink sleeping bag, my daughter left the hosts front door carrying a purple balloon and a goodie bag filled with unicorn stickers. Before we got home, her eyes welled with tears.
Teen Smoking & Tobacco Use
Practically no one suddenly decides at 35 years of age to become a smoker. In almost every case, smokers start this habit when they are young, before graduating high school. Pretty much, if you can make it past the teen years without using tobacco, you are never going to use it on a regular basis. As a parent, you’ve got your work cut out for you because even though tobacco companies cannot advertise to the extent they would like, they still get the message out to your children in movies and TV. Smoking still looks cool to many kids and kids typically discount the health risks because the future seems so far away.
How to Stop Smoking During Pregnancy
Smoking during your pregnancy could cause birth defects and a low birth weight in your baby. It may also result in placental abruption or a stillbirth. You might feel hooked on smoking, but the health of your baby could be the perfect incentive you need to finally quit. Unfortunately, smoking cessation aids, like the patch or nicotine gum, aren’t necessarily healthy for your baby, either. Employ other methods and strategies to help you quit.