Reader Article From Guardian: Trying to stop us smoking is self-defeating

Reader Letter from Guardian: Trying to stop us smoking is self-defeating

I have smoked for almost 50 years and I cannot see myself stopping now.

The reasons for this are as follows:

Around 75 per cent of the cost of a packet of cigarettes is tax, so a around £7 a packet the tax take is therefore around £5.40p.

1. If I stop smoking my four or five packs each week, I deprive the Treasury of at least £20 which could be used to fund the NHS.

Where is this money to come from? Income tax rises? Surely not. VAT increases? 

Surely not, but where else can you find a captive audience to willingly pay more tax if the number of smokers continues to decline?

I estimate 100,000 smokers of four packs a week quitting equals £2 MILLION pounds a week in lost revenue.

2. It is a proven fact that smokers do not live as long as non-smokers.

Given that we pay far more in tax than non-smokers, how can we be a drain on the NHS?

We are only likely to need it for a short time, not dragging on for years with Altzheimer’s disease, dementia or needing to be in a care home for years.

3. The pension bill for the State is likely to rise from the current £98 BILLION this year to £179 BILLION in 20 years time, according to the Daily Mail.

This is because of people living longer.

Are smokers not being extremely selfless in shortening their own life expectancy so that others can benefit?

In short, this witch hunt against smokers should be called off, as should the campaign against drinkers for similar reasons.

We do not force anyone to join in, we just ask for a bit of respect for our choice.

As it is still not illegal to smoke in this country, until primary legislation is brought in to ban it, one has to suspect that even the Government realises that it is not an option.

 J.D. Frankland

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Smoking During Pregnancy May Harm Your Newborn

Smoking During Pregnancy May Harm Your Newborn

Smoking and tobacco consumption has always been under the scanner of health experts for posing a threat to your overall well-being to causing fatal diseases like lung and esophageal cancer. 

Science has agreed to the same and various studies have shown that excessive smoking is also linked to psychological problems and can make a person more susceptible to risk of committing suicide.

A recent study published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, explains how smoking can have adverse effects on pregnant women. The study holds that smoking during pregnancy can be extremely unhealthy for the mother as well as the child. Smoking during pregnancy has been associated with causing various health related and behavioral problems in the newborn. The probable health risks include asthma, behavioural problems, nicotine addiction, etc.

 A team of researchers at The Miriam Hospital, Rhode Island tried analyzing the effects of smoking on pregnant women as well their newborn babies. According to the experts, babies born to mothers who smoke during pregnancy may find it difficult to cope with stressors of daily life later due to an alteration in DNA of a gene that regulates passage of stress hormones from mother to foetus. Not only this, the team also noted how babies born to such women may be smaller than the average babies and are more likely to be premature. Such babies might also be susceptible to other post-birth medical complications.

 "Our results suggest that these newborns may not be mounting adequate hormonal response to daily stressors," said the lead researcher Laura Stroud.

 "Their stress systems may not be prepared for the stressors of daily life," Stroud added.

The study included 100 mother-newborn pairs from a low-income, racially and ethnically diverse sample. The women were examined on the basis of their nicotine levels and were interviewed to cover each day of their pregnancy. Post-delivery, the placentas were examined and DNA was analysed to look out for any variations in the glucocorticoid receptor.

The results showed that infants exposed to smoking showed lower levels of the stress hormone, cortisol at baseline and in response to neuro-behavioural exams. The lowered cortisol responses were consistent across seven behavioural exams over the first month of life.

 "Our results suggest that effects of smoking during pregnancy on infant stress response are explained by changes in DNA," Stroud said.

 "These alterations in stress hormones, stress response, and DNA may explain links between moms' smoking during pregnancy and the risk for their children to have behaviour problems and nicotine addiction in later life," Stroud concluded.

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