CHILD HEALTH

Smoking effects the health of:
Unborn children, babies, and young children

Tobacco is the #1 preventable cause of infant mortality

Smoking during pregnancy and exposure of babies to smoking after birth causes

Low birth weight
SIDS
Lung infections
House fires

These causes lead to over 4000 infant and childhood deaths each year.

Download a free chapter-Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies from the upcoming book Empty Cribs.

To protect your child:

If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant-Stop Smoking.

Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW

See the Quitting page for more information

If you have a baby or small child in the house.

Do not allow smoking in the house, at any time.

Do not allow your child to spend time exposed to smoking.

Do not smoke in your car with a child present.

The Science

Read the science demonstrating the impact of smoking on SIDS and infant death

1. Sudden infant death syndrome
Carl E. Hunt and Fern R. Hauck

2006 review in the Canadian Medical Association Journal

Contains the following information on smoking and SIDS

There is a major association between intrauterine exposure to cigarette smoking and risk of SIDS. In studies comparing SIDS rates before and after risk-reduction campaigns, infants of mothers who smoked were about 3 times more likely than those whose mothers did not smoke to die of SIDS before implementation of the campaigns and 5 times more likely after the campaigns.²⁵ Most studies have shown that the risk of death is progressively greater as daily cigarette use increases, but the accuracy of self-reported cigarette use data is uncertain.^22,24,26 There may be a small independent effect of paternal smoking.²⁵ It is difficult to assess the independent effect of postnatal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, because parental smoking behaviours during and after pregnancy are highly correlated.²⁵ An independent effect of postnatal exposure to tobacco smoke has been found in a small number of studies as well as a dose response for the number of household smokers, people smoking in the same room as the infant, cigarettes smoked and time the infant was exposed.^27–31 These data suggest that keeping the infant free of environmental tobacco smoke may further reduce an infant's risk of SIDS.

2. Mitchell EA, Milerad J. Smoking and sudden infant death syndrome. In: International consultation on environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and child health. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1999. p. 105-29.

Study demonstrating a 5 fold increase in SIDS among smoking parents.

3. Schellscheidt J, Øyen N, Jorch G. Interactions between maternal smoking and other prenatal risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Acta Paediatr 1997;86:857-63. [Medline]

Found a 7 fold risk of SIDS in heavy smokers, and a 16-fold increase in SIDS for low birth weight babies born to smokers. Premature babies born to smokers had a 20 times higher rate of SIDS.

4. Klonoff-Cohen HS, Edelstein SL, Lefkowitz ES, et al. The effect of passive smoking and tobacco exposure through breast milk on sudden infant death syndrome. JAMA 1995;273:795-8 [Abstract]

An early study showing a role of passive smoking and SIDS. Secondhand smoke was associated with a 3.5 fold increase in SIDS.

5. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Reported Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy Shah et al. Am. J. Public Health 2006;96:1757-1759.
ABSTRACT

Estimates that 21% of SIDS cases are due to maternal smoking.

6. Smoking Patterns of Household Members and Visitors in Homes With Children in the United States Schuster et al. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2002;156:1094-1100.
ABSTRACT

1994 survey showing that 35% of US children-21 million- live in a home where they are regularly exposed to tobacco smoke.