Tobacco News

New research reveals another reason moms-to-be may want to quit smoking. Babies of women who smoke during pregnancy have lower levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) — the good cholesterol that is known to protect against heart disease later in life.

Smoking during pregnancy has been linked to many childhood health problems including behavioral problems, neuro-cognitive problems, and sudden infant death. However, it has been unclear what effect prenatal cigarette smoking had on a child’s risk of cardiovascular disease.
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Ilana Chertok, associate professor of nursing at West Virginia University, has been awarded a grant to study the effectiveness of smoking cessation programs aimed at expectant mothers in Monongalia and Preston counties. The grant, provided by the March of the Dimes Foundation, will fund a program to provide pregnant women with help to quit smoking. The program is called the “5A’s,” and aims to educate midwives with five steps: Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist and Arrange. Ream more »

A new study of more than 4000 US pregnant women revealed that to be mothers between the ages of 20 to 24 years are more likely to deny their smoking habit. Overall, 13 percent of pregnant and 30 percent of non-pregnant women were active cigarette smokers.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers uncovered the deception rate by measuring the blood levels of cotinine — a byproduct of nicotine used to detect exposure to tobacco smoke — in the questioned women.
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A woman from Appleton gave birth to a healthy baby in July, and she credits a Wisconsin smoking cessation program for helping to keep her off the cigarettes during her pregnancy. Heidi Steller, 20, is a new mom to a baby girl, Jayden Grace, and is one of 10,000 women who have participated in First Breath, a program belonging to the Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation, of which former Wisconsin first lady Sue Ann Thompson is founder.
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Women who smoke heavily during pregnancy tend to have daughters who start menstruating months earlier than the daughters of women who did not smoke during their pregnancy.

Previous studies have found evidence that women who start menstruating early may be at higher risk of health problems later in life. Early menstruation has been tied to a number of health risks, including heart disease, breast cancer and even lung problems such as asthma. Earlier periods have also been associated with earlier sexual activity and use of substances such as cigarettes and alcohol. Ream more »

A research study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health reveals the prevailing connection between mothers smoking during their pregnancy and law violations committed by their grown-up offspring. The Harvard School of Public Health in Boston conducted the studyunder researcher Angela D. Paradis and her co-workers examining data of 3,766 research participants. Ream more »

Smoking in pregnancy can cause harm to the child’s developing brain that puts them at greater risk of having a long-term criminal record, claim researchers.
Scientists claim that mothers who behave like January Jone’s Mad Men character Betty Draper and puff away while expecting can cause harm to a baby’s developing brain.
Those whose mothers smoked 20 cigarettes a day were more likely to become repeat offenders when they grew up. Ream more »

Women who smoke during pregnancy run the risk of adversely affecting their children’s coordination and physical control according to a new study from -rebro University, Sweden, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
- Moreover, we discovered that boys’ abilities may be affected to a greater extent than those of girls, says Professor Scott Montgomery at -rebro University. Ream more »

Mothers-to-be in Rotherham who smoke are being targeted by a special team of midwives to try to help them give up the habit.
The team has been assembled in what is believed to be one of the first schemes of its kind in the country.
When pregnant woman go for scans in the town they are referred to a specialist midwife if they smoke.
During a sit-down consultation they are given facts about smoking and advice and support on stopping.
The move follows a 12-month scheme by NHS Rotherham in which pregnant women were given shopping vouchers if they could kick their cigarette habit.
Stark facts
At the end of the incentive fewer than 10 women had taken up the offer.
Staff at Rotherham General Infirmary said the specialist midwife service was producing better results, with 25 women giving up smoking in the first few weeks of the scheme.
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