Breathe Happy

Most women want to do what's best for their baby during pregnancy. However, sometimes the rules seem a little stringent. No drinking? No smoking? Not even a little? There's a good reason for these rules however.

First, if you have ever tried to cut back on smoking, you know that it's nearly impossible. It's so tough to limit yourself that you would be better off putting that energy into quitting. In addition, smoking can have very adverse effects on your little one. 

Prematurity has been linked to smoking during pregnancy. A baby that is born even a few weeks early can suffer from a number of health issues. Babies need the full 40 weeks in utero to fully develop, though a baby born after 37 weeks is considered full term. Any earlier than this and your infant could suffer from immature lungs and many other problems. A preemie will also have to stay in the hospital for several weeks or even months. It's very difficult 

In Belgium, a smoking ban was enforced and saw a drop in premature births. While the connection between preemies and their mothers smoking, the ban helped prove this.

Other issues faced by some pregnant women who smoke include babies being born below birthweight, babies with cleft palates or lips, placenta problems (placenta previa and placenta abruption) or even stillbirths. Women who smoke are more likely to have ectopic pregnancies, as well, where the embryo implants outside the uterus.

One of the biggest issues is that your baby is exposed to nicotine and all the other goodies in cigarettes. While the placenta is designed to act as a filter, it doesn't stop everything from getting through. Many of the chemicals in your cigarettes will pass through to your baby and be in his bloodstream. 

Ideally, you'll be able to quit before getting pregnant. However, this isn't always the way things work. If you find yourself pregnant while you are still smoking, you can all but eliminate the effects on your baby by quitting as soon as possible. It isn't easy, but you'll know that you're doing the best for your child.

Where is your support group? Is it an organization, where you have to become a member, pay a fee to sit in a class, have a buddy-buddy system that assist you on your journey? Well… Yes and no. Your support group isn’t only them.

An important part of your support group can be a notebook that you express yourself in. Your support system can include new activities you’ve gotten involved with to take your mind off of smoking, the alarm clock that gets you up at a specific hour in the day that you feel you may be most productive, your electronic cigarette, nicotine patch, or gum that you tend to seek out when you need a drag.

YOUR TOOLS FOR A BREAKTHROUGH ARE YOUR SUPPORT GROUP

If you invest the time and energy to focus on using your tools, you and your ambition will become habitual partners. Where you will lose the habit/urge to smoke, you’ll refocus your habits and urges on these tools.

Your support group is you’re self-talk. At first try to talk yourself out of it smoking a quick drag, and then talk to your significant other about why you’d like to smoke. It's important to xpress the need. Speaking on what you feel in the moment will allow your brain to collect alternative treatments, or will allow the person you are speaking with to help you decide on what else will "fix" you in a more productive or healthy way. The people around you are your support group, and if not, bring people around you that will support you or simply observe healthy strangers and feel inspired to quick smoking. A nice walk in the park can do the trick. Perhaps it's scenes like elderly couples feeding birds, mothers chasing their children, or witnessing these strangers enjoy life with energy that you won’t have if you smoke your lungs out. Believe it or not, this will provide you with the support you need. Support groups are every day things and everyday events, and they really are with you everywhere you go. Let the world be your buddy system.

Hachis parmentier is a culinary delight; deli sandwiches are mouthwatering; nicotiana tabacum is prized  worldwide; All three commodities derive their name from the individuals who made them known to the world: Hachis parmentier from Frenchman Antoine-Augustin Parmentier; the sandwich is  named after the 4th Earl of Sandwich; finally nicotine is coined after Jean Nicot de Villemain

But the buck stops here. This naming business is the only thing that nicotine has in common with the other two products because hachis parmentier and sandwiches are nutritious and  will not kill you, but nicotine will destroy you.

So what was Jean Nicot thinking when he took the tobacco plant from Brazil and  introduced it  into France? this was a gift offered to King Henry II in the form of  seeds; at the time Jean Nicot was  the French ambassador to Portugal. In those days (1560), diplomats wore many hats: they were navigators, traders and explorers;  in addition to signing treaties and annexing lands.they introduced foreign specimens to their countries in the form of plants, animals (how do you think our zoos were born? ) and human beings (but they preferred to call them slaves or captives).  In  return, Africa and New world countries were given diseases or new governors.

Global thinking comes with the territory of the Internet  (nothing new), so when we, in the developed world  want something such as lucrative cash crops, we give no thought to  the repercussions on other countries, nor on the poor and disadvantaged workers within our own industrialized nations; the same can be said of the European nobility and aristocracy in the 17th century who enjoyed tobacco, ( as well as  tea, coffee and chocolate) and used it for every little ailment it  could fancy: – from ointment for sores to snuffing powder for headaches; the truth of the matter is in all ages, one group has selfishly reaped sensory or material benefits from the sweat of others (slaves, indentured servants, farmers, sharecroppers or plant workers). This pattern repeats itself over and over from 1560  all the way to 2013.

So think about it: nothing good  has come out nicotiana tabacum; today it is still associated with exploitation of cheap labor, cash crop plantations (which is fertile land that should really be used for food crops); moreover plenty of diseases and poverty are associated with this crop. Right here in the United States, African American tobacco farmers have died or wasted away because of tobacco cultivation: journalist Rebecca Skloot describes their unhealthy and impoverished  lives in the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Yet it is a  $ 27 billion industry (fujiub.com);  

Right from the start, Nicotiana Tabacum was a part of every pre-colonial and colonial enterprise and today it prides itself as being the mark of the 21st century. Jean Nicot de Villemain really earned the last part of his name:  in French "vile main" translates as  "foul hand" in English. How ironic is that? Nicot joins the ranks of History makers along with Christopher Columbus who  was equally attracted to those fragrant  tobacco leaves offered innocently by the natives (1492); and the rest is history…

It's an urban myth that ex-smokers always gain weight as soon as they quit. Only a small number actually gain more than a couple of pounds and this usually occurs during the first few months of quitting. This is largely because smokers generally weigh less than non-smokers, although the reasons for this are not clear. It is known that nicotine speeds up the metabolism by about 10% which would cause a smoker to burn around 200 calories per day more on average than someone who doesn't smoke. Smoke also damages the taste buds which makes food less enjoyable and a cigarette distracts the smoker from eating and therefore ingesting calories.

A few tiny changes in your diet and lifestyle will keep the flab at bay while you're quitting. Try choosing fruit or yoghurt instead of crisps or chocolate; cut down alcohol to one or two small drinks per week and use low fat spread on your toast instead of butter. You could also swap your usual mints for sugar free ones too and nibble on fruit or carrot sticks instead of boiled sweets.

Some people experience an increased appetite when they quit smoking, probably because their sense of taste and smell gets better. It can also be tempting to replace your usual after dinner cigarette with extra nibbles or polish off left overs. The best way to fend off hunger pangs is to eat little and often. Stick to three main meals each day but make sure you have a piece of fruit or yoghurt to hand for mid-morning and afternoon snacking. Never go shopping on an empty stomach – it's virtually impossible to walk past the sweetie display at the checkout without picking up something sweet and full of calories!

Despite what many diet books would have us believe, it's actually easier to keep your weight stable if 55 to 60% of your daily food intake consists of complex, unrefined carbohydrates. Examples of complex carbs are; fruit and vegetables, potatoes, wholemeal bread, rice, pasta and porridge.

Exercise is great for helping you quit as well as keeping your weight under control. And did you know that the greater your muscle mass, the more calories you will burn as your metabolism increases? Exercise also reduces any stress you may be feeling while you're going through the process of quitting and will treble your sense of achievement and motivation. After all, not only are you winning the war against the dreaded ciggies, you're also getting yourself fit and losing weight! Win, win win!

And even if you do put on a couple of pounds, always remember that quitting cigarettes is the best move you can make for your health so never let a small setback like that deflect you from your ultimate goal. Even if you did put on two stone in weight (which you won't), your future health would be far less compromised than it would be if you continued smoking.

E-cigarettes are the latest tool in the armoury of those looking to kick the smoking habit for good. Almost overnight the electronic cigarette business has mushroomed and there are now dozens of brands to choose from. It was only a matter of time before the traditional street corner tobacco kiosk was joined by an e-cigarette specific equivalent, and sure enough Manhattan's first such store opened on the Lower East Side last week. This venture joins their other small operation Queens and there are plans to open a second large store in Brooklyn later in the year.

The store exclusively sells e-cigarettes and accessories and customers are encouraged to sample the various flavours and nicotine strengths on offer before they buy. The featured brand is VapeNY. The cigarettes can be tailored to customers' specific requirements; flavour and strength etc. You can even choose different colours and patterns. Users concede that e-cigarettes don't taste the same as the real thing although if the vapour is right, the experience is pretty close to smoking for real.

Demand for e-cigarettes is now so great and growing so rapidly that established major brands such as Playboy and Marlboro have recently announced their intention to launch their own brands. E-cigarettes are proving contentious however as they fall into a grey area as regards regulation. Public health organisations are demanding caution and have expressed the need to further investigate and assess potential risks.

In the UK, e-cigarettes are currently permitted in pubs, restaurants and bars although there have already been calls from anti-smoking groups for their use to be banned. These groups argue that the impact of their use on health has not been fully investigated. It is also feared that children may be attracted to e-cigarettes because of their many fruity and sweet flavours and the fact that they look "cool". This may ultimately lead to children taking up smoking for real. Minors under the age of 16 are currently prohibited from purchasing the devices.

E-cigarettes are powered by a battery which uses the heat reaction as the user inhales to vaporise the nicotine-filled liquid cartridge and in doing so creates a smoke-like mist. The resultant vapour is a mixture of water, vegetable glycerine and propylene glycol. Recent research published by the University of Catania in Italy indicates that 10% of e-cigarette users reported the devices assisted them in giving up smoking. Other reports from unspecified sources however suggest that inhaling the vapour they produce can actually cause respiratory problems including blockages. The general consensus among users is that it is the toxins and tar contained in tobacco and smoke that are dangerous to health, not the nicotine. It is not thought likely that anyone could overdose on nicotine from "vaping" e-cigarettes.

One thing is for certain; e-cigarettes are here to stay and if they help to save the lives of those who take up "vaping" instead of smoking, that can only be a good thing.