Even cigarette companies say women shouldn’t use snus or smoke cigarettes while pregnant — but some just find it impossible to stop. Like this woman who wrote a heart-wrenching account of her addiction after taking up smoking at age 14:
I secretly smoked during both of my pregnancies. I cry just typing that but I did it, its true. I tried to quit and I know everyone reading this will shudder in disgust but I have to be honest. I could not quit and I smoked while carrying my babies. ...I was hypnotized once, it didn’t help. I have tried patches 13 times. I had a needle in my ear for a week. I have used gum, lozenges, prayer, scent therapy, positive thought, Wellbutrin, read every death/horror story I could find, posted cancer pictures on my walls and every other thing I thought would help to quit, and for all of my efforts I quit once for 8 months and once for a year and two months. I have smoked my whole life really………42 years of smoking. 42 years of hell.
Eventually, she writes, she heard about “vaping” on the radio and tried e-cigarettes. She gets a small amount of nicotine but without the “harmful smoke or chemicals” and feels like she’s been freed. “Free of the guilt, the shame, the persistent nagging worry about my health... It is wonderful to not be carrying this huge burden anymore.”
There’s more to her story, and we recommend reading it yourself.
Meanwhile, your humble scribe spotted this e-cigarette poster on the door of a convenience store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. “Puff Clouds of Vapor Without The Known Health Hazards Of Smoking Real Cigarettes,” it boasts.
“That’s an aggressive ad, to say the least,” says Dr. Ross.
“I say, good for them,” adds Dr. Whelan.
We tried getting in touch with the company to ask them about it, but couldn’t find a working phone number or email address for them on their website. The store was selling their e-cigarette kit for $80, though.