people trying to encourage smoking during pregnancy!!!

[joko]

my sister is pregnant and she has just had a couple of 50-odd year olds trying to encourage her to smoke and drink ( she has stopped completely)
they went on an on, telling her how they smoked and drank and their kids are fine, and how they know loads of others who smoke and drank and they are fine, and their parents smoked and drank and they are absolutely fine (i would beg to differ on that last one!!)

she is a bit upset because they were trying to make her feel stupid and she is going on holiday with them soon and thinks that they will carry on like this throughout the holiday.
she also suspects they are a bit worried that my sis will be boring and possibly ruin the holiday by not joining in with the drinking, as this woman also went a bit weird when she found out about the pregancy.

i am disgusted at these inbred, selfish braindead imbeciles, and i would say the effects of the smoking and drinking their folks did is clearly evident in the lack of development of their braincells - though i supsect their selfish gene thrived!!

the fact that these utter cretins did this themselves just tells me they were lucky nothing obvious has happened yet, and they should pray that some after effect does not show up as they get older, that could be attributed to the fact that they did not thrive in the womb and are therefore weaker and vulnerable to future ailments.

they should be ashamed that, of all the things they could ever do for their kids, they couldn't give up booze and fags - for even just the 9 months and give them a much better start, and end, in life.

any ideas what she can say to them to stop them in their tracks when they come out with this ill-educated, arrogant drivel?

any statistics and facts, and perhaps a few put downs and one liners?

[laurence2]

joko, i can only but agree with you here, you expect youngsters to encourage each other as it seems to be part of the ''smoking we look cool culture''.
but for a couple of 50 year olds that have had children etc, it defys belief, they are very narrow minded, and extremely selfish, a bigger concern i would have is, your sister going on holiday with these idiots, their not friends, and i suspect they will {as you,ve pointed out} encourage her to smoke/drink at every opportunity, and i CERTAINLY believe that they won't respect the fact that your sister is pregnant and SMOKE in front of her.
At least your sister has the commonsense, and can see the dangers smoking/drinking has on individuals, let alone being pregnant, your sister has to be strong and rise above these idiots, as its plainly obvious that no amount of explaining the dangers of smoking/drinking to her so-called mates will change their views on the said subjects, she should tell them straight to their face, that shes seriously thinking of not going away with them as she feels they are a bad influence on her and her babys health.
IF they can digest this and respect the fact that your sister dosen't want to smoke/drink, well all well and good, but i suspect they won't, its your sisters call at the end of the day, but if you don't ask you don't get, admitterly your sister should'nt have to sacrifice her holiday, but it seems the only logical choice.

Hope all works out fine for her, and good luck on her pregnancy.

[sunflower68]

joko what a shame for your sis, she sounds like a nice down to earth girl with her head screwed on. I can only agree with laurence2 but cannot help but wonder how the heck she got caught up in this holiday. I really really hope she has a good time though! Oh, and a smooth, healthy pregnancy and birth. x

[kazza12345]

the problem with health is that there are a lot of stereotypes that allow people to fool themselves. I.e.
"my grandad smoked 50 a day all his life and ate bacon sandwiches an lived till he was 98". Its just you never hear the steroetype of the person who smoked 20 a day and died of coronary heart disease and diabetes complications when he was 52

[BigMac]

This is from www.NHSdirect.com

If you are trying to get pregnant or are pregnant already, you should give up smoking, or at least try to cut down significantly. The Giving Up Smoking campaign offers an action plan and support for smokers, and explains the damaging effects of smoking while pregnant.

Drinking too much alcohol while pregnant can cause problems in the developing baby. Women who drink more than two units of alcohol a day are more likely to have babies with language, attention and hyperactivity problems. New findings from the Royal College of Gynaecologists support Department of Health advice that up to two units of alcohol twice a week is a safe intake during pregnancy. One unit is equivalent to a small glass of wine, or half a pint of normal-strength beer.

Drinking a lot of caffeine may also have a negative effect on the baby�s health. You don�t have to cut it out completely, but the Food Standards Agency recommends having no more than 300mg per day. This is equivalent to three cups of instant coffee or six cups of tea. Try caffeine-free drinks, such as fruit teas, as an alternative.

Stop taking any non-essential medicines.

And this is from www.givingupsmoking.co.uk - just the first couple of Qs and As:

"What's wrong with smoking during pregnancy?"
Poor health for the mother - Miscarriage; Bleeding; Nausea

Poor health for the baby: Reduced birth weight.
Easier for mum to give birth? Not necessarily: babies who don't grow well are more likely to be short of oxygen and need an emergency delivery
Premature birth
Stillbirth
Trebles the risk of cot death
Chest infections and asthma. These ailments last a lifetime and can sometimes kill

There's also a section on what to do if friends/family smoke.

[Loosehead]

Get her to pull out pronto, this isn't a holiday it's a punishment! They sound like a right bunch of selfish brainless cretins.

[pingping]

if it's your sister's first baby then she is completely justified with saying that she needs to be as healthy as possible to reduce any risks to the baby. Obviously this is true for any pregnancy but perhaps more so for the first one. I think if they are true friends then they should support her decision to not drink or smoke, and should also agree not to smoke around her on the holiday (if she goes).

wishing them both the best of health.

[dummkopf]

I did carry on smoking 2 or 3 cigarettes when I was pregnant. I thought at the time because I cut down from 20 a day I was being good. I was fortunate enough to have a healthy baby. In later years I always felt guilty that I'd smoked. Nowadays there's so much more info about the dangers, so I can't understand these women at all!! I think statistics, facts etc would be wasted on them, maybe your sister could say the cigarettes make her physically sick and she doesn't want to spoil the holiday or she could say she doesn't want to end up with frazzled skin at 50 something. p.s. I'm a 50 something and an ex smoker for 24 years

[electricblue]

I gave up for all 3 pregnancies,just VERY stupidly started again in between gave up for 3 years at one point,,,GUTTED!

[gazzawazza]

Your sister knows she is doing the right thing and should take comfort in that.
I agree with all previous answers and can't think of anything worse than being on holiday with a bunch of selfish idiots who will make a point of smoking around her. Hate the fitlhy habit.