tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441964287069378605.post1887386689767922287..comments2023-10-30T08:31:30.437-07:00Comments on Smokes and Booze: Worst Ad Campaign Ever (unless you are Tom)edbellmcsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07263919297406152341noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441964287069378605.post-17614474704953903312013-01-02T08:05:48.530-08:002013-01-02T08:05:48.530-08:00Dear Anonymous - I am glad your extensive experien...Dear Anonymous - I am glad your extensive experience with FASD has come to light. I will point out that we spell it Fetal in the US, but since you are in the UK, I give you a pass.<br /><br />I too am pleased to have "Won the Lottery" - and We (my Wife and I) as a family chose not to consume alcohol during her pregnancy. The key word here is choice. We make our choices - and others make theirs. It is not the place of the Government to take side in one area, but ignore another. edbellmcsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07263919297406152341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1441964287069378605.post-39195430126621799492012-12-13T15:09:15.194-08:002012-12-13T15:09:15.194-08:00I am so pleased that you won the lottery when your...I am so pleased that you won the lottery when your mum drank when pregnant with you because many are not so lucky. Thousands of people are affected by the disability known as Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder caused by maternal alcohol consumption in pregnancy. It it the leading cause of preventable learning disability and is more prevalent than autism. Families around the world are trying to raise these very complex children and every day is a struggle. The permanent organic brain damage (FASD) is for life and can happen before a woman even knows she is pregnant, so even if she stops drinking, the harm can have already happened. It is a lottery depending on the drink, the volume, the timing, the maternal nutritional health of the mother etc. A baby does not have a fully functioning liver and alcohol passes straight through to the baby. Alcohol is a known teratogen (so was thalidomide which was withdrawn from the market due to the birth defects that it caused). We would not give a newborn a 3 unit glass of wine but that is what is happening to the unborn when women consume alcohol. You may not like the ad campaign, but please do not dismiss the disability. It has been known about medically for 40 years but has been evidenced in writing over hundreds of years. A few generations ago people talked about gin being 'mothers ruin' and babies being 'gin babies'. Huge numbers of research studies take place every year to begin to see how FASD can be prevented. The only safe message is No alcohol = No risk when pregnant or planning a pregnancy. Please don't belittle the dangers as your unscientific opinion may cause someone to drink in pregnancy and cause harm to their unborn child. I don't expect that you would want that on your conscience. I am a foster carer of a child with FASD and I can reassure you that this disability is very real.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com