Pregnant women to get vapes from London council to help them stop smoking cigs
Pregnant women are to be handed free vapes by a south London council to stop them spending money on cigarettes.
Lambeth Council hopes that its "stop smoking" service will save expectant parents around £2,000 a year.
"Smoking during pregnancy is the leading risk factor for poor birth outcomes, including stillbirth, miscarriage and pre-term birth," a council spokesman said.
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"Data shows that women from low income households are much more likely to smoke in pregnancy.
"We are now planning to support the use of e-cigarettes for women who choose that route as their preferred aid for quitting tobacco, since this is less harmful compared to smoking.
"We recognise that while it is best for pregnant smokers to stop smoking without continuing to use nicotine, if this is difficult, and if they choose to use e-cigarettes it can help them become smoke-free."
Ben Kind, Lambeth’s councillor with special responsibility for children and young people, wrote: "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.
"This is aimed at improving the health of the family and saving money in the process of approximately £2,000 per year per family. It is estimated that over 3,000 households in Lambeth fall under the poverty line due to smoking and many of these households include children."
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The National Health Service has reminded Brits that so far little research has been conducted into the safety of vapes during pregnancy, adding that if pregnant women feel unable to give up altogether, patches or gum are recommended.
"It is not known whether the vapour is harmful to a baby in pregnancy," it says on the NHS website.
"If you're pregnant, licensed NRT products such as patches and gum are the recommended option to help you stop smoking.”
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