India: More than two million to-be mothers in India use tobacco

The Indian health ministry reported on Saturday that over two million Indian women who are pregnant continue to use tobacco. This constitutes over 8.5 percent of to-be mothers in the country. Stating that it is men who generally use tobacco, Jagdish Kaur, who heads the tobacco control program of the health ministry, expressed shock that the number, especially for pregnant women, was too big.
Scientific studies have always associated smoking in pregnant mothers with serious consequences in the health of their offspring. For instance, a range of behavioral problems including conduct disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),early drug dependence, and tendency towards violent offences. Studies have also shown that smoking in pregnant mothers degrades brain neurotransmitter activity leading to a tendency to develop behavioral problems in their children as they grow up.
Additionally, children whose parents smoke are more likely to get addicted to smoking and find it harder to quit. A smoker who inherits these genes from both parents has an 80 percent greater chance of lung cancer than a smoker without the variants.
Besides the risk of smoking during pregnancy, children whose parents smoke suffer the hazards of passive smoking. Secondhand smoke - smoke exhaled by smokers or emitted from cigarettes, cigars, or pipes - causes nearly 3,000 lung cancer deaths each year in non-smokers, according to studies conducted. Children and infants exposed to tobacco smoke experience ear infections, and asthma, and are at a higher risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Considering that there are estimated to be 25 million pregnancies annually in India, cessation of smoking is a neglected area, admitted Kaur. She said that the country has 61 tobacco cessation centers (TCC) directly supervised by the government. However, she said that more needed to be done. Awareness and community participation to curb smoking is most important, she stated.

Source: Bolo Health, 22 March 2010