Newborn found with high nicotine levels due to Mother’s tobacco addiction, know how tobacco damages your body
A woman recently gave birth to a baby in Gujarat and the new born was found with high levels of nicotine. The doctors, after examination, found that the overdose of nicotine found in the baby is related to his mother’s addiction for tobacco.
As per reports, the young mother produced a baby at Mehsana on June 20. At birth the child was 2.4 kg. However, unlike other new born babies, the kid failed to cry. Even he turned blue. As his health condition deteriorated, he was put on ventilator. The doctors then tried their best to save life of the kid.
Initially, the doctors thought the bad health condition of the baby was due to asphyxiation at birth. However, later they found some other reason behind it. The medical team found that the child’s crisis was due to high level of nicotine in his bloodstream. And it was found that this was due to his mother’s addiction to chewing tobacco. The baby had born with 60/ng/ml nicotine levels, which is extremely high than the permissible levels.
After five days of treatment, the child showed improvement. He is okay now.
Gujarat, known as the epicenter of oral cancer, grapples with the widespread addiction to chewing tobacco. According to the National Family Health Survey 5 conducted in 2020, 41 per cent of men and 8.7 per cent of women in the state consume tobacco.
Alarmingly, this addiction is now affecting newborns. After five days of treatment, the child showed signs of recovery and was discharged. Dr Mehta consulted international experts who emphasized the immense benefits of breastfeeding, advising the mother to abstain from tobacco while nursing.
How tobacco damages your body
The chemicals in tobacco can damage your body in many ways. For example:
- Nicotine narrows your veins and arteries. This can damage your heart by forcing it to work faster and harder slow your blood and reduce oxygen to your feet and hands.
- Carbon monoxide deprives your heart of the oxygen it needs to pump blood around your body. Over time, your airways swell up and let less air into your lungs.
- Tar is a sticky substance that coats your lungs like soot in a chimney.
- Phenols paralyse and kill the hair-like cells in your airways. These cells sweep clean the lining of your airways and protect them against infections.
- Tiny particles in tobacco smoke irritate your throat and lungs and cause ‘smoker’s cough’. This makes you produce more mucus and damages lung tissue.
- Ammonia and formaldehyde irritate your eyes, nose and throat.
- Cancer-causing chemicals make your cells grow too fast or abnormally. This can result in cancer cells.
Ms Kalinga