CCTPCC : Health Consequences of smoking

Health Consequences

Smoking ups risk of Alzheimer's disease for 65 and older More »
CDC: Smoking-Attributable Mortality and Years of Potential Life Lost, by State -- More »
Maternal smoking associated with risk factors for children Women with low education should be the target of public health efforts toward reducing tobacco use. More »
Child cancer link to smoking 'close' A new study links low birth weight, premature birth and newborn admission to intensive care -- all more common in the children of smokers -- with as much as a five-fold increase in childhood cancer. More »
Effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy on newborn neurobehavior Infants of mothers who smoked during pregnancy showed greater need for handling and worse self-regulation and trended toward greater excitability and arousal relative to matched, unexposed infants. More »
Indiana African Americans and Smoking This fact sheet shows data specifically related to African Americans and smoking habits, health risks, and attitudes about smoking and second-hand smoke. More »
Cutting Back Doesn't Help Smokers' Health Even smokers who cut their cigarette consumption in half in a bid to improve their health tend to die early. More »
DNA Damage from Smoking Causes Breast Cancer New research shows cigarette smoke prevents breast cells from repairing their DNA, leading to cancer growth. More »
Smoking Can Lead to Blindness A new study shows that smokers have a two-to-three times higher risk of developing age-related macular degeneration compared to nonsmokers. More »
Smoking harms moms and their unborn children Indiana is one of the worst states in the nation when it comes to maternal smoking. More »
Smoking Can Lead to Erectile Dysfunction Men who smoke a pack a day have a 60% higher risk of erectile dysfunction than nonsmokers. More »
Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease Cigarette smoking is a major cause of coronary heart disease. More »
Emphysema and Chronic Bronchitis Caused by Smoking 75% of deaths from COPD that occur in developed countries are directly related to smoking tobacco. More »

Facts / Health Consequences

Maternal smoking associated with risk factors for children

Kandel, DB; Griesler, PC; & Schaffran, C.

Maternal smoking & educational level associated with risk factors and consequences for children. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, epub ahead of print: Jan. 28, 2009. Educational attainment and smoking among women: Risk factors and consequences for offspring.

Purpose: To examine the association between education and smoking by women in the
population, including smoking during pregnancy, and identify risk factors for smoking
and the consequences of smoking in pregnancy for children's smoking and behavioral
problems.

Overall Findings: The lower the level of education, the greater the risk of being a current
smoker, smoking daily, smoking heavily, being nicotine dependent, starting to smoke at
an early age, having higher levels of circulating cotinine per cigarettes smoked, and
continuing to smoke in pregnancy. Educational level and smoking in pregnancy
independently increase the risk of offspring smoking and antisocial and
anxious/depressed behavior problems.

How it can be used: The educational gradient is especially strong in pregnancy. Women
with low education should be the target of public health efforts toward reducing tobacco
use. These efforts need to focus as much on social conditions that affect women's lives as on individual level interventions.