DOH hotline to help mothers quit smoking

The 0800-636363 hotline is available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday to Saturday, the officials said, adding that each pregnant smoker needing help will be offered six to eight smoking cessation counseling sessions via telephone over a two-month period.

Expectant mothers who do not smoke can also call the hotline for help to resolve the problem of second-hand smoke exposure and persuade their husbands and other family members to kick the habit, the officials said.

A survey conducted in 2006 by National Taipei College of Nursing on pregnant women indicated that 6.6 percent of the respondents were smokers.

With approximately 200,000 Taiwan women getting pregnant per year, the ratio translates into 13,000 pregnant women smokers per year.

Also, the survey found that 55 percent of respondents were exposed to second-hand smoke.

Lin Lien-chang, director of the DOH’s smoking cessation hotline service center, noted that pregnant smokers tend to have a higher risk of miscarriage and premature delivery than non-smokers, while the chances of their babies being born with deformities, low birth weight or cleft lip are also higher.

Citing the results of a study by British researchers, Lin said there is a 49 percent success rate for pregnant smokers to kick the habit under professional guidance owing to their concern for their babies’ health, compared with just 20 percent among other smokers.

However, the study also found that a high percentage of these women will pick up the habit again three to six months after delivery, Lin said, pointing out that smoking usually becomes an excuse to relieve stress among post-natal women, especially when they face “the double pressure of life and child care.”

He said the smoking cessation hotline is aimed at assisting pregnant smokers recognize their roles as mothers and thus give up cigarettes for good.

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