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• Eighty per cent of pregnant women in Nunavut smoke 

When Ottawa’s Bob Reid convened a meeting several years ago to discuss Nunavut’s smoking epidemic, the territory’s health officials, Inuit elders and leaders all shared an overriding concern.

Nunavut’s expectant mothers smoked too much, they told him, and required urgent help.

“One of the things that was appalling to community members was the degree to which women continued to smoke throughout pregnancy,” says Reid, associate director of the rehabilitation centre at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.

Reid, an expert in smoking cessation and behaviour modification, works with heart patients trying to break their addiction to tobacco.

About one-quarter of the 7,000 patients who visit the institute every year are smokers. (Smoking is a leading risk factor for heart disease.)

But the scale of the epidemic among Nunavut’s expectant mothers is of a different magnitude: studies show that up to 80 per cent of pregnant women in the territory smoke.

That level of tobacco use has profound effects on the health of Nunavut’s infants, who suffer the world’s highest rates of hospitalization for pneumonia, bronchiolitis and other respiratory infections.

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Contribution of smoking during pregnancy to inequalities in stillbirth and infant death in Scotland 1994-2003: retrospective population based study using hospital maternity records (Full Text) 

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ON THIS TOPIC

Rates of both stillbirth and infant death show social gradients within developed countries Smoking during pregnancy has been clearly linked to stillbirth and infant deaths Quantifying the contribution that smoking during pregnancy has on the social inequalities gap in stillbirths and infant deaths is of interest

WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS

Social gradients existed in the stillbirth and infant death rates in Scotland during 1994-2003 Smoking during pregnancy accounted for 38% of the inequality in stillbirths and 31% of the inequality in infant deaths

In addition to tackling smoking during pregnancy and reducing infants’ exposure to tobacco smoke, other measures are needed to reduce social inequalities in these outcomes

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Contribution of smoking during pregnancy to inequalities in stillbirth and infant death in Scotland 1994-2003: retrospective population based study using hospital maternity records 

Conclusions Both tackling smoking during pregnancy and reducing infants' exposure to tobacco smoke in the postnatal environment may help to reduce stillbirths and infant deaths overall and to reduce the socioeconomic inequalities in stillbirths and infant deaths perhaps by as much as 30-40%. However, action on smoking on its own is unlikely to be sufficient and other measures to improve the social circumstances, social support, and health of mothers and infants are needed.

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• Stillbirths And Infant Deaths Related To Smoking During Pregnancy And Socioeconomic Inequalities 

New research published on bmj.com today reports that addressing the problem of smoking during pregnancy may help to reduce the socioeconomic inequalities in stillbirths and infant deaths by as much as 30 to 40 percent.

Without a doubt smoking during pregnancy has been associated with stillbirth. In addition, infant deaths and smoking rates during pregnancy vary strikingly with socioeconomic position. In order to find out more, a team of researchers began the task of measuring the effects of smoking during pregnancy and on the social inequalities gap in stillbirths and infant deaths.

They assessed the records of 529,317 live singleton births and 2,699 stillbirths delivered at 24 to 44 weeks' gestation in Scotland from 1994 to 2003.

Information on smoking during the pregnancy was gathered. A deprivation score was designated using postcode data from the 2001 population census.

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Smoking During Pregnancy Puts Children At Risk Of Psychotic Symptoms 

Mothers who smoke during pregnancy put their children at greater risk of developing psychotic symptoms in their teenage years.

New research published in the October issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry shows a link between maternal tobacco use and psychotic symptoms.

Researchers from Cardiff, Bristol, Nottingham and Warwick Universities studied 6,356 12-year-olds from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. All the children completed an interview for psychotic-like symptoms, such as hallucinations or delusions. Just over 11% of the children (734) had suspected or definite symptoms of psychosis.

Smoking during pregnancy was found to be associated with an increased risk of psychotic symptoms in the children. The researchers observed a 'dose-response effect', meaning that the risk of psychotic symptoms was highest in the children whose mothers smoked the most heavily during pregnancy.

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Smoking in Pregnancy Linked to Psychotic Symptoms in Kids 

The new research, published in the October issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, doesn't prove that smoking during pregnancy causes the psychotic behavior, but it does suggest a link.

In the study of 6,356 children in the United Kingdom, more than 11 percent of the 12-year-olds appeared to have definite or suspected symptoms of psychosis.

The researchers found that the children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy were more likely to have the symptoms, and the risk rose in those whose mothers smoked the most while pregnant.

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Exposure To Tobacco In Unborn Linked To Increased Risk Of Psychotic Symptoms In Later Adolescence 

A new UK study suggests that exposure to tobacco while in the womb is linked to an increased risk of a child developing psychotic symptoms during their teens.

The study was the work of researchers from Cardiff, Bristol, Nottingham and Warwick Universities and was published in the October issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry.

For the study the researchers looked at data on 6,356 12-year-olds taking part in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, which has been following the health and development of the children of over 14,000 mothers who enrolled during pregnancy in 1991 and 1992.

All the children underwent an interview assessment for psychotic-like symptoms, such as hallucinations or delusions, which revealed that just over 11 per cent of them (734) had definite or suspected symptoms of psychosis.

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Smoking in pregnancy risks psychotic children: study  

Mothers who smoke during pregnancy put their children at greater risk of developing psychotic symptoms as teenagers, British scientists said on Thursday.

Researchers from four British universities studied 6,356 12-year-olds and interviewed them for psychotic-like symptoms such as hallucinations or delusions. Around 19 percent had mothers who smoked during pregnancy.

Just over 11 percent, or 734 of the total group, had suspected or definite symptoms of psychosis.

Many previous studies have shown cigarettes can harm the fetuses of mothers who smoke while pregnant. The risks include causing babies to be born smaller and increasing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome or heart defects.

Stanley Zammit, a psychiatrist at Cardiff University's School of Medicine who led the study, said the more the mothers smoked, the more likely their children were to have psychotic symptoms.

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• Maternal tobacco, cannabis and alcohol use during pregnancy and risk of adolescent psychotic symptoms in offspring (Full Text) 

Results

Frequency of maternal tobacco use during pregnancy was associated with increased risk of suspected or definite psychotic symptoms (adjusted odds ratio 1.20, 95% CI 1.05–1.37, P = 0.007). Maternal alcohol use showed a non-linear association with psychotic symptoms, with this effect almost exclusively in the offspring of women drinking >21 units weekly. Maternal cannabis use was not associated with psychotic symptoms. Results for paternal smoking during pregnancy and maternal smoking post-pregnancy lend some support for a causal effect of tobacco exposure in utero on development of psychotic experiences.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that risk factors for development of non-clinical psychotic experiences may operate during early development. Future studies of how in utero exposure to tobacco affects cerebral development and function may lead to increased understanding of the pathogenesis of psychotic phenomena. . . .

Possible biological mechanisms

Animal studies indicate that fetal nicotine exposure can result in long-term structural and functional changes,7 including decreased neuronal density and size in the hippocampus and cortex, altered regulation of neuronal apoptosis,7,15 and increased expression of receptors for acetylcholine, which plays a critical role in brain maturation through modulation of axonogenesis and synaptogenesis.15 However, difficulties exist, both conceptually and pragmatically, in the interpretation of results from animal models in relation to effects in humans.

We are not aware of animal studies to date that have examined the effects of nicotine exposure in utero on putative endophenotypes of schizophrenia. Although endophenotypes of schizophrenia that can be modelled in animals are yet to be clearly determined this could potentially become an informative area for future research.

We observed suggestive evidence that maternal smoking during the third trimester was most strongly associated with risk of PLIKS, although results from subgroup comparisons should be interpreted cautiously. This is rather inconsistent with results from studies of famine38,39 and influenza,40,41 where early pregnancy exposure is associated with greatest risk of schizophrenia, but may reflect different sensitive periods of risks in brain development for different types of exposure. Maternal smoking,5,42 particularly during late pregnancy,43 is thought to lead to lower birth weight.7 However, adjusting for birth weight, as well as for gestation and 5-minute Apgar score had no effect on the results, and although these measures are likely to be rather crude markers of pre- and perinatal adversity, it seems unlikely that such adversity mediates or confounds the relationship between maternal smoking and offspring psychotic experiences. . . .

Implications

Observational studies are limited in determining causality due to potential problems of residual confounding. We observed an association between maternal, but not paternal, smoking during pregnancy and risk of psychotic symptoms in the offspring, consistent with accumulating evidence from animal models of adverse effects on brain development from in utero nicotine exposure. These findings suggest that risk factors for development of non-clinical psychotic experiences may operate during early development. Future studies of how in utero exposure to tobacco affects cerebral development and function may lead to increased understanding of the pathogenesis of psychotic phenomena.

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Smoking during pregnancy puts children at risk of psychotic symptoms 

New research published in the October issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry shows a link between maternal tobacco use and psychotic symptoms.

Researchers from Cardiff, Bristol, Nottingham and Warwick Universities studied 6,356 12-year-olds from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. All the children completed an interview for psychotic-like symptoms, such as hallucinations or delusions. Just over 11% of the children (734) had suspected or definite symptoms of psychosis.

Smoking during pregnancy was found to be associated with an increased risk of psychotic symptoms in the children. The researchers observed a 'dose-response effect', meaning that the risk of psychotic symptoms was highest in the children whose mothers smoked the most heavily during pregnancy.

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• Pregnant smoking 'psychosis link' 

Mothers who smoke during pregnancy put their children at greater risk of psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations, a study suggests.

A UK survey of 12-year-olds found those whose mothers had smoked were 20% more likely to suffer such problems.

The link was 84% more pronounced if 20 or more cigarettes a day were smoked.

The researchers suggested tobacco exposure in the womb may affect the child's brain development, but admitted further study of the issue was needed.

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Pregnancy helped Dawn Taylor kick the smoking habit  

The Tobacco-Free Coalition of Delaware County has been helping residents quit smoking for several years.

For the past year, The Star Press has published success stories from people who have successfully quit smoking.

"Success stories are a fantastic way to give hope to those who are burdened by the nicotine addiction," said Cecilia Williams, coalition program coordinator. "Since one of the biggest challenges smokers face is (believing) that they can quit, these stories will provide testimonies of those who believed that they could quit and succeeded."

Another success story:

Name: Dawn Taylor

Occupation: student, Ivy Tech

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• Smoking pregnant increases baby's asthma risk: study 

Smoking during pregancy increases the risk of a baby developing asthma up to sixfold, said a Swedish study published at the European Respiratory Society's annual congress on Monday.

The study by Professeur Anders Bjerg of the Sunderby central hospital in Norrbotten and his specialists showed that smoking leads to babies being born underweight, a fact that has an impact on the development of asthma.

The Swedish doctors studied asthma in about 3,400 children between 1996 and 2008.

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News of the Weird: People Different From Us  

Theresa Winters, 36, who lives in Luton, England, with her unemployed boyfriend Toney Housden is pregnant (and chain-smoking) with her 14th child (his 12th) and remains totally dependent on public assistance, which officials estimate has totaled "millions" of pounds. Social workers recently removed the kids still living with her (five were born with disabilities), and Winters defiantly told The Sun in July that, if they also take away her 14th in November, she and Housden will just keep making more until she gets one to keep.

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If Penelope Cruz is really pregnant, surely she wouldn't be smoking...  

The 35-year-old, who dates actor Javier Bardem, was seen with a cigarette in her hand while dining with friends at Hollywood's exclusive Chateau Marmont yesterday.

Bad habit: Penelope Cruz was seen holding a cigarette while dining at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont

The pictures have lead some observers to conclude she couldn't possibly be expecting, given that so few women smoke during pregnancy because of doctors health warnings.

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