Smoke signals

(Picture: Terrence Hill as Lucky Luke, the cowboy ‘’who shoots faster than his shadow’’ and who, pressured by the WHO, weaned himself from his ‘’glued to the lips’’ cigarette to a straw.)
Despite the fact that ‘’every one’’ knows by now that smoking is a bad habit, and much more so for the growing children of pregnant women and for babies, many women keep on smoking while pregnant or they return to the old habit after the birth of their child. Smoking during pregnancy exposes a child to more serious dangers then smoking after birth. Co-smoking is more dangerous for a child, as it appears up till now, then to breastfeed when mom is a smoker. Especially for children who grow up in a less fortunate socio-economic situation (SES) experience the negative effects of smoking parents. Mothers in lower SESs are less likely to choose to breastfeed and smoking as an added factor in the choice to breastfeed. Smoking moms better choose to breastfeed for as long as they can, in order to compensate for the smoking risks and for the risk attached to not breastfeeding. Campaigns to quit smoking, especially during pregnancy and when living with young children, are worth continuing. But to have a safety net for those who cannot make that step (yet) strong encouragement to breastfeed is a necessity, too.