Pregnancy and smoking

Tobacco use will kill one billion people by the turn of this century worldwide. Almost 7,000 tobacco-related deaths are reported annually in Ireland- the first nation to introduce a comprehensive workplace smoking ban in March 2004. Although Ireland has several components of tobacco control efforts in place, a comprehensive tobacco control program similar to the Massachusetts or the California Tobacco Control Programs has not yet been developed. A comprehensive tobacco control program is one that also incorporates anti-smoking interventions targeting specific population sub-groups, such as pregnant mothers, immigrant population and the vulnerable children exposed to second-hand-smoke (SHS) both at home and in moving cars. Since the expansion of the EU countries, Ireland has become home to a large segment of immigrant population. Official statistics report that 12% of the Irish population comprises immigrants. Evidence elsewhere suggests that an immigrant population is more likely to smoke in ‘heavier’ quantities compared to the general population. However, such detailed evidence is not currently available in Ireland. It is well-established that pregnant mothers with a smoking history or even when exposed to SHS during pregnancy are more likely to have adverse birth outcomes, such as low-birth-weight and SIDS. We reported from Massachusetts that 7% of pregnant mothers smoked during pregnancy compared to almost 13% pregnant mothers smoking during pregnancy in Ireland. Howev...

Pregnancy and smoking

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