Not so critical of Stacey Solomon

It's worth pointing out that some press stories on Stacey Solomon on her issue of smoking while pregnant don't condemn her and indeed regard public censure of her as abusive.

This is from a writer who appears to believe Jill Pell's quite incredible conclusions about the smoking ban and premature births. Yet she feels like the witch hunt is tasteless:

The anti-smoking lobby, which has attacked her with such venom, certainly has the stats to back up its claim for moral legitimacy. But I balk at the mass condemnation of the one-time nation's sweetheart. 

It has the whiff of the witch hunt. There are glints of glee in the eyeballs of those rushing to crucify this otherwise likable and soft-natured woman. [...]

That a good mum should be rounded on and metaphorically spat at by those who imagine that not smoking makes them angels of propriety is so painfully ironic it's almost funny. 

As for the publicity-seeking vultures behind Celebrity Mum of the Year stripping her of her previous title, that's the biggest joke of all. 

With this year's short list featuring Natasha Giggs and the still to give birth, Peaches Geldof, Stacey can rest assured that being a decent mum has sod all to do with that prize.

Hooray for this writer from the Belfast Telegraph for acknowledging that good motherhood is a not defined by being risk averse, and for condemning this needless public outcry.


Hat tip to Pat Nurse who undertook some hefty radio work on the story this week.

Nicotine replacement could be made stronger for expectant mothers

Nicotine replacement therapy is not only distributed free on prescription in Scotland, but in areas that have taken up the 'give it up for baby' programme pregnant women are paid to use it.

A report from the University of Nottingham now 'discovers' that NRT doesn't work for pregnant women, concluding that changes in the mother's metabolism resulting from pregnancy suggest that patches with a stronger dose of nicotine could be the answer. Now they will need to find an optimum level of nicotine that is strong enough to 'work' but not strong enough to harm the foetus.

Tim Coleman, author of the study, is a leading figure in UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies, with acknowledged personal interests in the development of smoking cessation drugs. True to form he has identified a research opportunity in the unreliability of the nicotine replacement cessation regime. That's his living I suppose but these days it's not hard to think of many better ways to use resources.

Nicotine based smoking cessation treatments available to Scottish children

This is not a new story: nicotine replacement therapies have been approved for people as young as 12 since 2005. General Practitioners in Scotland were sent updates on good practice in 2007, in order to remind doctors that, following research, NRT was considered safe for 12–18-year-olds and pregnant women as well as other adults.

I came across this story when the Herald reported it in 2007. I wrote it up here (the link to the Herald story is at the foot of the page), and it is clear that the comments (mostly very critical of prescribing NRT to young people) have been edited out.

Two of the people mentioned in the Herald piece, Linda Bauld and John Britton are both leading figures in tobacco control, involved with the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies. Their interest in tobacco control as a growing concept is clear, even though they don't have direct personal commercial interest in nicotine products.

Recommending nicotine for young people doesn't seem sound to me but not being a medic I'm not in a position to make detailed comment.  However, I don't like the fact that comments have been censored from the Herald article (the words '0 comments' imply that no comments were ever made, which is patently false).