Lambeth Council in south London will be giving out free ecigs to pregnant women as part of a new anti-smoking campaign.
The council say they hope the initiative will save expectant mothers £2,000 a year – money it claims would otherwise be spent on maintaining tobacco habits which cause thousands to fall into poverty. And more importantly, Lambeth Council says vapes can help pregnant women quit harmful tobacco for good.
A council spokesperson told the Independent: “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.”
The details of the scheme were first unveiled by Lambeth councillor and cabinet member for children and young people Ben Kind, and reported by the BBC, in response to question about the council’s plans to fight child and family poverty in the area.
He said: “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.”
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