Dear Annie: My pregnant granddaughter smokes.
She has switched to electronic cigarettes, telling her husband that these are completely safe and will not affect the baby in any way. She also claims there is no danger of secondhand smoke.
I say if you are sucking into your lungs any vapour with nicotine, it will affect the unborn child. And when you exhale, there has to be some nicotine when it comes out. My husband and I don’t smoke at all. So please tell me: Should my granddaughter smoke her electronic cigarettes inside the house or out? — Kansas
Dear Kansas: Electronic cigarettes are cigarette-shaped, battery-operated vapourizers that deliver nicotine through flavoured liquids. They have not yet undergone any rigorous study, so the effects regarding second-hand smoke are still unknown. They are not regulated, and there are no industry standards, which means you can’t be sure what you are inhaling, but it generally includes nicotine and propylene glycol. Please urge your daughter to treat electronic cigarettes as she would any other type when it comes to smoking while pregnant. She is still risking the health of her child.
Dear Annie: My ex-husband’s third wife and I have become great friends. During our many conversations, we discovered that we were both born in the same hospital and delivered by the same doctor, although she’s five years younger. We unintentionally bought the same gift for my oldest grandson and wrapped it in the same polka-dot paper. We accidentally did it again the following year for her grandson’s first birthday. Before we met, we had both decorated our kitchens in an identical apple motif.
Have you or your readers ever heard of something like this? The odds must be astronomical. We are anxiously waiting for your reply. — Sister Wives in Kentucky
Dear Sister Wives: The two of you sound like an advertisement for a “twins separated at birth” story. Some of this could be explained by the fact that your ex- husband’s taste in women runs toward those who like apple-motif kitchens and polka-dot wrapping paper. Perhaps he has simply married a younger version of you. (Do you know who is younger?) But what really amazes us is how well the two of you get along. Thanks for sharing.