to be really pissed off that my so called friends think it is ok to smoke in the same room as a 6 week old baby and for them to be all snotty because we refuse to see them with our kids

[sheepgomeep]

I just cannot believe thier stupidity and thier naivety i really can't. They have used the excuse that as she smoked in pregnancy then the baby is used to it and will be ok.

They have gone snotty on us because we wont take our kids there.

No amount of education will make them change thier minds and whats worse her whole family have started it too so at any one time up to 8 oeple are smoking in the same room as that poor baby!

I am not turning this into an anti smoking rant as dp and I both smoke but we both go outside well away from the kids and are both very aware of the risks .

They give teenage parents and people on benefits a really bad name

I have heard plenty of people say 'but i'm not addicted', but be unable/unwilling to give up even faced with the facts.
Apparently there are those of us genetically more susceptible to addiction, though, which may account for some being able to give up fairly easily, and others, not. Don't try to tell someone they can run a marathon until you've run a mile in their shoes
Btw i'm not exactly sure who this post was directed at

Diva, walk away. Life's too short and you're too good to be giving this ANY attention at all

YANBU, my dp somkes but my home is strictly a non smoking house! He goes and stands outside and wouldn't have it any other way.

You are right to keep your children away from it.

Divastrop, did you just agree with me? It is what I have been saying all along: people fail to give up smoking because they don't really want to.

Sounds very much like we are saying the same thing!

Anyway, I hope that when you do decide you want to give up you'll find it as easy as I did.

I'm quite aware that some people are more prone to addiction than others. My husband is an alcoholic and I have seen for myself the withdrawal that he went through when he gave up alcohol. Believe me, it was nothing like the very minor side-effects that I dealt with when I gave up smoking 4 years ago.

Yet he did it, probably because his friends at the AA showed him that he could. The mind is a powerful thing and it is amazing what it can do.

I wonder who peddles the whole smoking is difficult to conquer rumour? Could it be the cigarette companies? I often do wonder.

Would like to add that it also bothers me when people complain of being broke but still find the money for ciggarettes. I know someone who only goes to a freezer shop for her shopping as supermarkets are too expensive and she "cant afford fruit & veg" yet her and her partner both smoke 20 a day and never go without!!!

Godzilla, I did not tell any one they could run a marathon, as you will see if you read my post again.

My dh saw a family - mum, dad, proud grandparents etc. - take their new born baby from the hospital.

As they got into the car they ALL lit up Just astounding in this day and age! I grew up in a smoking household and it probably contributed to me becoming a smoker myself ( gave up 7 years ago). I'm OK but my brother has respiratory problems, and another brother had constant ear infections.

My dh smokes, but always outside the house, and the same for guests. Apart from anything else, they are setting themselves up for harder work if their baby is more prone to ear infections, colds etc. they will have more sleepless nights and trips to the gp. It's not so hard to find an outside space is it??

Great report published today regarding the effects of the smoking ban in Scotland - a 17% reduction in hospitalisations due to heart attacks in smokers, and a 20% reduction in non smokers. They are linking this DIRECTLY to the ban on smoking in public places as there is no other obvious reason for it. Many reports to show passive smoking is incredibly harmful, and a baby's organs are still forming - can't understand people's stupidity in the face of overwhelming evidence.

My parents both smoke and when we were little, if the lounge got too smoky whilst we were all say, watching a film, we would open the door or a window. Cue parents asking us to close said door/window as there was a draught. Equally when we drove to wherever and they smoked, we would open the windows and again be told to close the window as it was making them cold.

I remember in a biology class at school, we were working out our lung capacity. Despite being one of the taller and broader girls in my class, I had the smallest lung capacity (I was pretty fit and healthy too...). I wonder why that was

elasticwoman-none of theduchess' posts contained anything i didnt already know.tbh i was more upset by the posts that said smoking outside was just as bad as smoking inside.i know it would be preferable not to smoke atall,but surely its better to smoke outside if you are going to smoke?

theduchess-i think i found some of your posts condecending as you sounded very much like my mother,who is also a reformed smoker and passionatly hates it.she blames my dad's death from a heart attack on the fact he smoked,even though there were other factors such as drinking,diet full of fatty foods,genetic pre-disposition etc.

anyway,i dont want to give up as im still battling PND,and im sure than when i get better i will find i start smoking less and less without thinking about it.(i did this once in the past.one day i realised there had been an unopened pack of 10 fags on the side for 3 months and i thought 'oh,i dont smoke anymore!')

lomondgirl-i cant understand people saying they cant afford fruit+veg whether they smoke or not.buying fresh works out a hell of alot cheaper than buying ready-made frozen stuff.its more like 'i cant be arsed cooking from scratch'.

Elasticwoman - i wasn't aiming that comment at you, i just nicked your words to try to make a point! Sorry

Divastrop I certainly agree that it is better to smoke outside if you are going to do it at all.

Hi sheepgomeep,

no links personally just google meningitis and passive smoking you will be shocked apparently in 1 hospital alone 5 under 5 year olds are admitted daily for illnesses related to passive smoking.

Smoke even with a window open the poisons still linger in the air for 2 hours after.

i used to be a teen mum..tho what that has to do with smoking is a bit beyond me! I'd report friends to Social services if they were allowing up to 8 adults to smoke in a room with a baby. ITs just inexcusable. you're not even allowed to smoke in pubs anymore, it cannot have esacped their attention that this is bad for their kids! SS won't take the kids away for that, they probably won't do anything at all, but it'll give your mates the shock they need tht might just save their kids from asthma, stunted growth, and a whole host of other problems, some much more serious. Honestly. So many people are just so seriously stupid / selfish.

I have just moved back to Australia to live and in the state of South Australia it is now illegal to smoke in your car with children in it. You will be pulled over by the police and fined if caught.