To hate the idea of the new smoking bribe?

[CharleyFarleyy]

What do people who dont smoke anyway get? seems like they are going to miss out un-fairly.

Also if quitting for your and your babys health isnt incentive enough will shopping vouchers help anyway?

Thanks Shadow, I'd like to see how that went.

I completely agree with you about support. It's one of those things where they spend more money promoting it than actually helping people to do it!

I didnt mean to actually compare women thay smoke whilst pregnant to rapists or thieves, I was just using extreme examples. I realise why people think I was comparing but I just want to clarify that in no way do I even nearly think that smoking whilst pregnant is any near as bad as those things.

breastfeeding voucher trial announced

yes they've done that too, bumbley.

oops, didn't notice we were on p12

I don't think there are many women out there who think smoking in pregnancy is ok. I doubt there are many who light up and then dance a merry jig. Smoking is a complex addiction and addiction is being- correctly - recognised more and more as a mental health issue.

A massive amount of people with mental health problems smoke. I used to be one of them (generalised anxiety disorder) but am now a much happier, calmer vaper. I wanted to stop so badly but my nerves got so bad every time I tried that I actually felt suicidal. I thought I wou never have a child because I could never stop smoking. I would cry myself to sleep and feel so ashamed. Pregnancy can obviously affect your brain chemistry hugely. Imagine that thrown in with existing mental health and addiction issues.

If an incentive makes it even a tiny bit easier for a woman to stop smoking when pregnant, I'm all for it. For anyone who feels bitter about not getting vouchers as a non-smoker, would you rather be dealing with addiction issues? Probably not.

breastfeeding voucher trial results

Thanks Plenty.

Charley, I thought it was fairly obvious what you meant. I think some people just like to find something to get about.

I don't think the BF vouchers were such a good idea, even though it has proved successful. While there are a few small risks with FF and while BF should be seen as the norm, the decision to BF or not is much more complex and should be made on an individual basis. For many mothers and babies, FF is the best (sometimes the only) option. In any case the health benefits are negligible compared with supporting a pregnant woman to quit smoking.

Also I believe it's deeply dodgy to pay someone to use their body for somebody else's benefit.

And what shadow said about support.

Thanks Shadow. I think it's great that it's encouraging people to bf but it does make me feel a bit sad that it's the financial incentive that does it - not the information about why it is better for their baby (and them!).

It benefits them too Plenty.

Jassy, it seems like you're deliberately missing my point. Would you like to pay people to not overeat?

I didnt mean to actually compare women thay smoke whilst pregnant to rapists or thieves
Oh well that's OK then, as long as you didn't mean to.

I was just using extreme examples.
Why? Why would you do that?

You have also suggested that women should be punished for smoking during pregnancy or should have their babies taken away. What exactly are you trying to achieve?

I said that anyone who would only give up for the sake of vouchers and not babies health should. not anyone who smokes!

I used extreme examples to emphasise my point.

My post, my opinions, my examples, you know where to go if you dont like it, thanks V much.

And thank you Bumbley

It benefits them too Plenty.
True but beside the point. The BF voucher scheme is not driven by concern for women's health (and again it's only a marginal difference).

I find it quite interesting that you think the BF scheme is 'great that it's encouraging people to bf' (even though you feel a bit sad too), while with the smoking scheme you're 'in the "why isn't your baby's health enough incentive for you" camp'

I've explained why I think the two are different. You clearly do too, but that must be for different reasons as we are diametrically opposed on this. How are the two schemes different in your opinion?

Well that's good. Only mythical women should have their babies taken away then. Why bring them up at all?

Do you not understand the effects your posts could have on PG smokers who come on MN for support? Did you read BigCat's post a few pages back or AgentCooper's just up the page? Can you appreciate that it's a little bit more complicated than They Shouldn't Do It?

I never have slagged PG women who smoke!

I hate the scheme and I dont like women who quit soley for the vouchers.

And just how would you distinguish between mother's who've only given up smoking because of the vouchers, and mothers who would have given up purely for the sake of their baby's health?

Going to the breastfeeding vouchers here as an example - I breastfed DS2 out of choice, no vouchers required. However, if this breastfeeding voucher trial scheme had been running where I live, and I'd been offered a place on the trial, I'd have taken it. I'd have been quite happy to accept shopping vouchers for doing something that I was planning on doing for free anyway.

How would you be able to tell me apart from a mother who only gave breastfeeding a try because of the lure of shopping vouchers?

I'd be willing to bet it's the same with the smoking voucher trial - at least some of the mothers on that will probably have intended to try and quit smoking anyway, and thought why not get vouchers for something I was planning on doing anyway?

Plenty, I feel the same about both pretty much. It's great that woman stop smoking during pregnancy but why isn't the baby's health enough? It's great that women are bf but why isn't the information about health enough? Why do we need to pay people to get them to care enough about their baby's health to give up smoking/breastfeed?

I never have slagged PG women who smoke!

Oh fgs! You have likened them to rapists and thieves, despite your backtracking. You have also suggested that they be punished and expressed surprise that smoking in pg is not illegal. Pretty much all your posts on this thread are based on your assumption that pg smokers might be so selfish that they care more about the vouchers than their babies' health. You might not have posted 'PG smokers are x,y,z bad things' in so many words but your contempt for them shines out.

You like to take offence on behalf of people dont you?

I WAS MAKING EXAMPLES, NOT COMPARISONS.

Now your doing my head in. You got nothing better to do?

Having been in contact (through work) with some pregnant women who smoke I'm really pleased about the positivity shown in this thread.

To those of you who are against it, I'd like to point out that many women who smoke through their pregnancy have lives that I hope you can't even imagine. Controlling partners, domestic abuse, low levels of education and literacy, living in hostels, drug abuse etc etc. Smoking is an addiction, a comfort and a part of who they are. They should be helped - not judged. If a bit of money is what it takes to get them taking the first steps to improve their lives and health then in my opinion it is worth it.

Women who smoke while PG are not always on low income, being abused etc.

My mum smoked all through PG with me (I was absolutely fine though) and she had enough money and a good husband... she has said that if she was offered the vouchers she would of been offended. If she could of give up she would of done, she felt it played down how hard it was to give up.

I dead against this and would sign a petition against it. It's simply not fair and annoys me. It feels like people who are doing the 'wrong ' thing are rewarded to do the 'right' thing. I think people who don't smoke during pregnancy should be rewarded. Why should someone get so much money? They are probably likely just to take it up again once they have had the baby. The health of their baby should be incentive enough and they should not be rewarded over people who prioritise this already.

Opinions about nhs are interesting but I think money should be spend trying to persuade these women to stop smoking in other ways rather than using money as an incentive. Their babies health should be all the incentive they need .

I like a drink but have given it up during pregnancy, surely they can do the same? I have not been given any money for this.