Tobacco Free Babies

GUIDE’s Tobacco Free Babies campaign explains the importance of reducing pre-natal and infant/child exposure to secondhand smoke.

Save Brains

GUIDE’s Save Brains campaign provides information about the adolescent brain, its maturation process and the negative and irreversible damage alcohol use causes.

Materials for this campaign are available for purchase here.

Adolescents whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are at higher risk for drug abuse than their counterparts whose mothers did not smoke.

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) funded researchers have found evidences that link prenatal exposure to tobacco to negative toddler behavior and early smoking experementation (NIDA Notes). An additional study revealed that prenatal exposure to nicotine causes lasting damage that makes the brain vulnerable to addiction upon later use of the drug ( Action on Smoking and Health). These data indicate that the children whose mothers smoked during the pregnancy or were exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to initiate the smoking earlier and became addicted faster than children whose mothers didn’t smoke.

Children of smokers are more likely have physical differences from other children, such as being shorter and more likely to have hearing difficulties.

According to Emory Maternal Substance Abuse and Child Development, children of women who smoked during their pregnancy continued to be shorter than children of women who did not smoke during their pregnancy at 7 and 11 years of age. Children of smokers have been found difficulties in hearing. Difficulties in this area may interfere with a child’s ability to speak and later to learn to read. Children of women who smoke may have poorer attentional regulation skills, more conduct problems, and an increased risk to be diagnosed with Attention Deficit-Disorder.

To learn more visit Emory Maternal Substance Abuse and Child Development.

Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have a miscarriage than women who don’t.

Studies have found an association between maternal smoking and number of cigarettes per day increses the risk of miscarriage (Neilsen et.al., ).

Miscarriage can be extremely stressful event for the entire family. Miscarriage often invloves physical and pshycological difficulties. Even though the exact cause of the miscarriage is usually unknown, smoking is one cause you can prevent. To learn more about miscarriage visit American Pregnancy Association.

Reference: Neilsen, A. et. al. (2006). Maternal smoking predicts the risk of spontaneous abortion. Acta Obstetrica Gynecologica, (85), 1057 – 1065.

There is thought to be a link between prenatal smoking and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden, unexplained death of an infant younger than 1 year old. The exact causes of SIDS are unknown, but researches found an association between maternal/prenatal and secondhand smoke and SIDS. SIDS is the leading cause of death in infants between 1 month and 1 year old. Most SIDS cases happen in babies between 2-4 months old.

To learn more about smoking and SIDS visit Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Babies of mothers who smoke are more likely to be born smaller than babies of non-smoking mothers.

Women who smoke during the pregnancy have three times the odds of having a baby with low birth weight ( London, 2008).

Babies are considered as low birth weight when born less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces. Serious medical conditions, such as respiratory distress syndrome, are common among those babies.

Low birth weight also increases the risk for some chronic diseases like high blood pressure and heart diseases, in the adulthood. To learn more about low birth wight visit March of Dimes.

Refernce: S London. (2008). Associations Between Smoking, Poor Pregnancy Outcomes Are Cumulative. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 40(4), 238-9.

Babies exposed to smoking suffer more from illnesses such as bronchitis than babies who aren’t exposed.

Respiratory diseases, such as asthma and bronchitis, and ear infections are the most common diseases among children. Study that researched the effects of the secondhand smoke on infants during their first year of life found an association between maternal smoke and incidents of respiratory diseases among infants (Pedreira et.al., 1985). You can prevent your child from suffer recurrent illnesess by protecting him from secondhand smoke.

Reference: Pedreira et.al. (1985). Involuntary smoking and incidence of respiratory illness during the first year of life.

Women who smoke are more likely to experience difficulties conceiving than women who don’t.

Coping with difficulties in conception can be very stressful for both parents. Smoking is one of the peventive conception problems causes. Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke can lead to delay in conception. This is true for both males and females. European study (Hollander, 1996) evaluated the effects of smoking on fertility. The study found that women who smoked took more time to become pregnant than women who did not smoke. The study also revealed that heavy smokers experienced longer delays than lighter smokers.

Visit Smokefree.gov for information about smoking cessation.

Refernce: Hollander, D. (1996). Conception may take a long time among women who smoke. Family Planning Perspective, 28(4), 181 -182.

Mothers who smoke while they are pregnant are more likely to have a premature baby than mothers who don’t.

“Smoking also increases the risk of preterm delivery (before 37 weeks of gestation) (*). Premature and low-birthweight babies face an increased risk of serious health problems during the newborn period, chronic lifelongdisabilities (such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation and learning problems), and even death.” (March of Dimes)

“Smoking during pregnancy can cause low-birth weight, preterm delivery, and infant death. Smoking during pregnancy is estimated to account for 20 to 30 percent of low-birth weight babies, up to 14 percent of pretermdeliveries, and about 10 percent of all infant deaths according to American Lung Association” (American Pregnancy Association).

To learn more about premature birth complications click here.

* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). What Do We Know About Tobacco Use and Pregnancy. June 11, 2007.

Marijuana… It’s more harmful than you think

GUIDE’s “Marijuana… It’s more harmful than you think” is a peer-to-peer campaign conducted by our Youth Advisory Board members, which aims to educate their peers and the community about the dangers of marijuana use.

Materials for this campaign are available for purchase here.

Parents Are the Key

Parents Are the Key to Safe Teen Drivers helps parents, pediatricians and communities keep teen drivers safe on the road.

This campaign is a program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A campaign handout provided in English and Spanish is available here.

Parents Who Host Lose the Most

This social host campaign provides information about the consequences and penalties of providing alcohol to minors at home, at parties and during celebrations.

Campaign brochures are available in English and Spanish.

This campaign is a program of the Prevention Action Alliance.

Safe and Sober Prom

This campaign targets high school students during prom season. Youth Action Teams and schools partner to share information and alternative activities to promote safe and sober prom celebrations and prevent alcohol-related problems.

The current poster was created as a collaboration of the GUIDE Youth Advisory Board and Walton County Youth Advocacy Board and can be purchased here. Previous poster versions can be purchased at a discount here.

#MyStoryIs…

#MyStoryIs… is GUIDE’s Red Ribbon Week campaign aimed at encouraging individuals and groups across the state of Georgia to tell their story. Using one word only to complete the sentence “my story is…” during October 23-31, the goal is to prove that the best stories are drug free.

With the quick online request of a free toolkit, GUIDE provides all the tools necessary for you implement this campaign in your home community.

Tobacco Free Babies

GUIDE’s Tobacco Free Babies campaign explains the importance of reducing pre-natal and infant/child exposure to secondhand smoke.

Click on the boxes below to learn how secondhand smoke affects mothers and babies.

Mothers who smoke while they are pregnant are more likely to have a premature baby than mothers who don't.

Women who smoke are more likely to experience difficulties conceiving than women who don't.

Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have a miscarriage than women who don't.

Babies exposed to smoking suffer more from illnesses such as bronchitis than babies who aren't exposed.

Babies of mothers who smoke are more likely to be born smaller than babies of non-smoking mothers.

There is thought to be a link between prenatal smoking and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Children of smokers are more likely have physical differences from other children, such as being shorter and more likely to have hearing difficulties.

Adolescents whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are at higher risk for drug abuse than their counterparts whose mothers did not smoke.