Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Risks for a Pregnant Smoker !

The period of gestation, number of pregnancy and general health of a pregnant woman with smoking habit are the important factors which could influence the effect of smoking on the unborn baby. When a pregnant woman smokes, her unborn baby does the same. The carbon monoxide and nicotine are passed onto unborn baby through blood stream. The maternal blood laced with nicotine and enriched with carbon monoxide lessens the oxygen supply and accelerate the heart beat of unborn baby. The child is likely to be premature or under weight. The growth of the toddler would be affected and the child may be more susceptible to infectious diseases. The chances of spontaneous abortions and still-births are three times more in pregnant smoker as compared to non smoker pregnant. The risks are more pronounced in pregnant smokers with anemia and poor nutrition.


A non-smoker pregnant woman, whose husband smokes, would be having identical risks for her unborn baby. In fact a non-smoking wife of a smoker husband thus becomes a non-smoking smoker or passive smoker. Pregnant smokers and the husbands of non-smoker pregnant women should quit smoking for the better outcome of pregnancy and the health of their baby. Excessive smoking during first trimester of pregnancy may lead to abortion. Primigravida women ( women with first pregnancy) would be at more risk as compared to multigravida due to pregnancy associated physiological and metabolic changes as well as psychological and emotional factors.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Tobacco – An addiction forming drug and its implications

A doctor who smokes today must be a fool. There are many medical men who have not made much effort to give up smoking habit though they full knowledge of harmful effects and consequences of smoking. The role of tobacco in producing morbidity and mortality is well known. It is we proved that cigarette smoking is related with higher risk of lung cancer, ischemic heart disease, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. The risk of young one suffering from pneumonia and bronchitis is much higher if the parents smoke. The children of smoking parents also develop the habit of smoking.

Cigarette smoking carries special risks for women. Smoking during pregnancy has been observed to retard fetal growth. The habit may also lead to genetic disorders in babies born to smoker mothers. Spontaneous abortion rate is higher in women who smoke. However, outcome of pregnancy is not affected if smoking is given up as early as possible after conception. Smokers are more susceptible to infectious diseases also. There are many chemical substances in the smoke of cigarette and biri, but nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar are most harmful and hazardous for health. The tobacco that is not smoked but chewed or left in the mouth or snuffed is called smokeless tobacco. Smokeless tobacco is no alternative to smoking and is equally harmful. Chewable tobacco leads to tooth decay and mouth cancer.

A smoker who can not quit smoking is essentially an addict. Youngsters develop tobacco addiction during pre-teen years as they are not aware of its harmful effects and consequences. Youngsters fall prey to seductive advertising and sales promotion drives. More than one billion kilograms of tobacco is produced and consumed world wide every year. Around 40% of males above the age of 15 years smoke cigarettes or chew or eat tobacco. Around 3 million people die of tobacco-related diseases, worldwide yearly. The incidence of cancer of mouth, esophagus and the pharynx is 10 times higher in smokers as compared to non-smokers. Biri smoking carries a higher risk of lung cancer than cigarette smoking due to higher amount of tar sucked by the smokers.

Tobacco reduces the effectiveness/efficiency of a wide range of drugs used for the treatment of various ailments. The efficiency of analgesics, anti-asthmatic and anti-coagulants has been found to be reduced. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases in women taking oral contraceptives. Female smokers are at higher risk if their blood pressure and cholesterol levels are high. Be determined to quit smoking for the sake of your own health and for the health of your family. Smoking is a slow-motion suicide attempt. If you are not able to quit smoking through determined will power, consult your physician and take de-addiction therapy and counseling.

Can we eradicate smoking ?

The smoking habit is not natural but acquired one as one has to learn smoking. How does one get initiated to smoking ? Social influence such as parental example, sibling, friends' pressure and motivation by industrial promoters, initiate youth to smoking. Seductive tobacco advertisements by the cigarette manufacturers play a vital role in the initiation of new smokers. The tobacco industry is very powerful the world over. Tobacco industries spend US$ 25-30 billion every year to promote smoking as they need to add 2-3 million new smokers every year to run their business successfully. The smoking is an addictive habit and the danger posed by use of tobacco is not recognized by most of smokers as well as governments the world over. Non-smokers also suffer because of contaminated atmosphere.


Nicotine is the active agent behind the drug dependence of tobacco. A smoker experiences withdrawal symptoms after considerable time and gets stimulation through smoking. Habits can not be checked by force but through determination and medical and psychological counseling. Can we eradicate smoking ? Yes, probably we can eradicate smoking with political determination, public participation and community counseling. Tobacco perhaps is the more abused drug than alcohol but less dependence inducing. The cultural, commercial and economical factors are involved in addiction to cigarette (or biri) smoking. There is a need for strong governance and policies to bring social transformation to eradicate smoking.