HHS HealthBeat (August 04, 2009)

Smoking children of smoking moms

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Smoking isn’t inherited, but studies indicate the addiction can be passed from mother to child. One study finds that, if a woman smokes during pregnancy or in years soon after, the odds rise that her child will become a smoker, too.

Roni Grad of the University of Arizona College of Medicine found this in data on 730 people in a long-running study of lung health. He followed data on the children into young adulthood.

[Roni Grad speaks] ``Twenty-eight percent of smoking at the age of 22 could be explained by exposure to the mother smoking during pregnancy and/or early life.’’

Grad speculates that early exposure to tobacco may have biologically primed the kids to become smokers.

The study presented at a meeting of the American Thoracic Society was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: August, 04 2009