Pregnant women handed free vapes to help them quit smoking
24 October 2022, 14:19 | Updated: 24 October 2022, 16:12
The scheme hopes to save mothers-to-be around £2,000 a year.
Pregnant women will be given free vapes to help them stop smoking under a new initiative being rolled out in south London.
Lambeth Council's latest smoke-free plan aims to crack down on the amount of money mothers-to-be spend on cigarettes, tobacco and smoking products every year, which is driving them into debt.
New research claims parents spend around £2,000 a year on smoking.
Despite the fact there's been limited testing on the impact of vapes and e-cigarettes during pregnancy, authorities approved the strategy to help women who are spending money they can't afford on tobacco.
A council spokesperson explained why they are rolling out the plan, saying: "Smoking during pregnancy is the leading risk factor for poor birth outcomes, including stillbirth, miscarriage and pre-term birth.
"Data shows that women from low income households are much more likely to smoke in pregnancy.
"We are now planning to support the use of e-cigarettes for women who choose that route as their preferred aid for quitting tobacco, since this is less harmful compared to smoking.
"We recognise that while it is best for pregnant smokers to stop smoking without continuing to use nicotine, if this is difficult, and if they choose to use e-cigarettes it can help them become smoke-free."
According to the NHS, vapes "are fairly new and there are still some things we do not know". However, "current evidence on e-cigarettes indicates they are much less risky than smoking."
"It is not known whether the vapour is harmful to a baby in pregnancy," it states.
"If you're pregnant, licensed NRT products such as patches and gum are the recommended option to help you stop smoking," the NHS adds.
Lambeth councillor Ben Kind, cabinet member for children and young people, explained the details of the scheme after he was quizzed over what the council was doing to tackle poverty in the borough.
He told fellow councillor Issa Issa: "The council is soon to start providing free vape products, as part of the stop smoking service, to smokers who are pregnant and/or are carers of young children.
"This is aimed at improving the health of the family and saving money in the process of approximately £2,000 per year per family.
"It is estimated that over 3,000 households in Lambeth fall under the poverty line due to smoking and many of these households include children."
However critics such as Andrew Bush of Imperial College London's National Heart & Lung Institute criticised the scheme and said that Lambeth Council is "playing with fire".
"E-cigarettes have not been around for a long time," he said.
"We're still learning about these things. I would be really, really worried about this as being yet one more step saying: 'Okay, e-cigarettes are okay.'
"I'm sure the council is doing it with the best of motives - they're not in the pockets of the e-cigarette manufacturers. But, what are you encouraging women to inhale? What's the safety of these things?"
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