CASH TO BURN ?

At just over 5ft and unable to reach the top shelves at the supermarket without the help of a stepladder or kindly taller person I should be the perfect poster child for smoking in pregnancy possibly causing stunted growth .

A child of the 70s when the effects of this particular addiction wasn’t so well publicised, I can forgive my mum a little bit for not realising that the thing she enjoyed puffing away on might result in drastic problems for her unborn children.

But look around us now and that advice is everywhere from cigarette packets to adverts representing what it’s doing to you from the inside out.

Rotten flesh rollup, anyone?

So it does make me wonder why when presented with it every day, sometimes quite graphically, there has been a proposal made to present smoking expectant mums with £400 of shopping vouchers for quitting instead of using the money to teach and coach them through the process.

It is an addiction that some can find very difficult to quit so surely support and help through it is far more useful than being bribed with coupons for luxuries .
For in the end if they do manage to quit , they'll be able to afford the things they want with the cash they aren't spending on tobacco .


GIRL FROM THE NECK DOWN COLUMN 02/02/15
MEDWAY MESSENGER