Kids become Regular Smokers because of their Mothers

Published on May 29, 2009 9:03 AM

Uterus is a place where take place biological changes, reported scientists. According to a recent study, the unborn child, who’s mother smoke while she is pregnant, automatically become a regular cigarettes smoker as teen and young adult.

Dr. Roni Grad, an associate professor of clinical pediatrics, said: "Somehow smoke is changing the brain chemistry."

He added that if kids are exposed to smoking prenatal or in the early years of life, they are four times more likely to become a regular smoker at the age of 22.

For the study, researchers used data from the Tucson Children's Respiratory Study for to found whether a mother's smoking during pregnancy and during her child's early years affected whether the child smoked later on.

The researchers estimated maternal smoking during pregnancy and when infants were 1.5 months and 1.5 years old and again when the children were 6, 9 and 11 years old. They then looked at the children's smoking behavior when they were ages 16 and 22.

At the end of the investigation they found that women who smoked during pregnancy and during their children's early years were more likely to have kids who smoked at age 22.

Scientists also found that the kids of mothers who smoked during pregnancy and their early years were less likely to quit smoking than were the children of mothers who never smoked or who started smoking when their children were school-age.

The study also found that the children’s bad habit was not affected by father or other familiar members, except mother. The mother is the main cause of kids smoking habit and their period of quitting.

Dr. Norman H. Edelman, a scientific consultant to the American Lung Association, said that this research provides another reason for women to stop smoking before becoming pregnant.

He said: "We know that smoking during pregnancy confers many health risks upon the fetus, including premature birth and increased risk for asthma. Now we see a new risk, increased rates of smoking during early adulthood."

This recent study is one more reason, for female smokers who are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant, to try quit smoking.