colleague smoking while 8 months pregnant - aaaah!

[Lil]

Am sure I'll be trashed by the 'live and let live' brigade, but I am so-o-o angry with a colleague of mine who is merrily puffing away on her ciggies whilst very preggers. I just bumped into her outside the office in the smokers den and I was this close to having a real go at her. Wish I had, it would have calmed me down..am sitting here very pissed off and irate!!!!

Has anyone here ever let rip?

BORING SCIENCE BIT:

I used to share a house with someone who worked on the neurology behind addiction. Basically when you become addicted to something a circuit is set up in your brain. Once it's there it's there. t gets fired when you feed your addiction eg smoke and it wants to be fired! If you give up that circuit remains (although not firing I guess). Even after 20 years it's still there. One cigarette- and yes it's up and running again and the addiction is active again. That's why once an addict always and addict.....

I didn't used to be this boring- must be becuase I gave up smoking

BORING SCIENCE BIT:

I used to share a house with someone who worked on the neurology behind addiction. Basically when you become addicted to something a circuit is set up in your brain. Once it's there it's there. t gets fired when you feed your addiction eg smoke and it wants to be fired! If you give up that circuit remains (although not firing I guess). Even after 20 years it's still there. One cigarette- and yes it's up and running again and the addiction is active again. That's why once an addict always and addict.....

I didn't used to be this boring- must be because I gave up smoking

I've bored for Mumsnet on nicotine addiction in the past and Jimjams post sounds spot on to me (as does www too..)

I was really, really lucky that cigarettes made me sick once I was pregnant, I still had the odd few while I was getting my head around the concept (and still in total denial) but since then zip BUT I know I would fall off the waggon with just one now, even after 5 years (I've even stopped for 6 years in the past and gone back to 40 a day)

I've been on two Mumsnet meets and had to avoid the smokers because I know I'll be back to square one within a week.

Nicotine is an awful drug and if you've been lucky/sensible enough to avoid it, great but I'm afraid you will never understand those of us who have been caught by it. A number of surveys have shown it's easier to come off heroin than nicotine, perhaps partly because cigarettes are more readily available (depending on your circumstances).

Yes, we all know the dangers of smoking, particularly when pregnant but unless you've been there I really don't think you can understand the way it screws your head.

Just look how many people give up during pregnancy only to go back to it afterwards, theoretically they should be well over the addiction, they see the adverts about kids breathing smoke and yet they still smoke, nicotine really does make the brain think of excuses for that behaviour.

Right I've finished my glass of wine so I'm off to bed !

Very interesting to read why people start but why do people NOT start as well? I was brought up by 2 pretty heavy smoking parents (20 to 40 a day). Living room ceiling had to be re-painted every year, smoked in the car with windows closed etc And yet, of their 3 kids, only one smoked/smokes (not sure if has given up or not). He was the more conventional lad, loads of girlfriends, easily-led by his mates etc. The other was the loner type. I desperately tried to be a smoker for a brief period in my 20's, but it just never made me feel good at all. And this was at a time when my dad had had a smoking-induced heart attack and then when on to have another fatal one. Plus my dad, who had every reason to give up after the first attack, just couldn't. It was a Liverpool v Everton Cup Final that pushed him back over the edge - just too much stress there

So, whilst the circuit set up in the brain thing seems plausible (no reason to doubt it, I mean) it can't be for everyone. Plus, my mother decided overnight, after 20 odd years of smoking, to give up and has had no pangs whatsoever since.

I've never even tried smoking - simply couldn't see the point of it and found the smell disgusting. I come from a non smoking household but both my elder brothers have smoked so it can't be family upbringing. I think it's more to do with the crowd you fall in with at school, work, whatever. I was never "in" with the smokers at school and very few work colleagues smoked so I guess it never really became an option with me.

I smoked for many years and was very addicted - I tried to give up on many occasions but never managed it. As soon as I became pregnant with dd I gave up immediately - to me there was simply not a choice - this was another life I was affecting not just my own. IMO if someone really wants to give up they can - most of us would lay down our lives for our kids. Smoking during pregnancy is just not acceptable IMO- sorry to stirt hings up again but I do feel strongly about this...

I smoked for many years and was very addicted - I tried to give up on many occasions but never managed it. As soon as I became pregnant with dd I gave up immediately - to me there was simply not a choice - this was another life I was affecting not just my own. IMO if someone really wants to give up they can - most of us would lay down our lives for our kids. Smoking during pregnancy is just not acceptable IMO- sorry to stirt hings up again but I do feel strongly about this...

Posted twice for emphasis?????

Agree on the pictures on cig boxes, in Australia and Canada they have black lungs etc and everyone still smokes.

Good on Angelmother, hope you can stick it out, I found it v hard for the first couple of weeks but it does get easier.

Am eating like a horse but still going, so is dh so that helps...

I couldn't get enough of those Pick 'n' mix type sweets, fizzy cola bottles etc. Probably created a separate addiction to sugar, oh well.

Smoking rates generally in Canada and Australia are lower than here, Oliveoil - although like other parts of the world there are socioeconomic factors to take in to account too so in some locations it might seem like a lot of people smoke. The rates have declined in countries like Oz and Canada over the past 20 years because of an effective raft of tobacco control measures including stringent public and workplace policies, effective advertising bans, good public health campaigns (including those picture warnings) and, crucially, proper support for people wanting to give up. You've got to help the smokers who want to quit and are having trouble knowing how to go about it. Australia and Canada's governments have really led the way here. European tobacco control measures lag behind partly because for many years the UK industry (BAT, Imperial Tobacco) successfully convinced the British government to object to ad bans or even smoking control in public places. I very much see the tobacco industry as the villains in all this - the subtle tactics they use to get round laws on promoting tobacco to under 16s are still very effective and they devote £millions a year to this end. And, as the rates of smoking uptake are slowing in the UK, they are now off-loading their products in the developing world....ggrrrr.
Lots of good stats and facts and figures on tobacco use and control here

Good luck Angelmother.

To answer Tinkers question - I never started because I knew the risks. I was one of those kids who did anything to avoid following the crowd - everyone else smoked, it was the 'cool' thing to do, so I didn't!

I started smoking the first time when I was not 13 yet, just because my new best friend that i really wanted to like me, did. My mum found out inmmediately and told me that i could smoke if I wanted but I I had to do it in the house! Needless to say that was enough to kick my habit!!

Started again at 15, again because of friends, but only ever did when out clubbing or at school, too afraid of being caught again, then when I wanted to get on the pill the doct asked me if I smoked and that it wasn't advisable to smoke while on the pill, I was the first one of my friends so had no idea a lot of women do smoke while on the pill, but she scared me and that was that (I was never addicted though, I was more like a recreational smoker). The fact that my boyfriend didn't smoke was a major factor as well.