. In short, smoking remains an important cause of premature death in the United States and the single one deemed the most preventable (Brandt 169).
In recent years, the risks of smoking during pregnancy have been documented and shown to be a serious health concern. Smoking during pregnancy is a risk factor for low birth weight and infant mortality. Maternal smoking has also has been linked to health problems among young children, such as increased risk of respiratory infections, and of asthma (Geronimus, Neidert, and Bound 1258).
The timing of smoking in women's life cycles is critical. Smoking-related threats to fetal health or infant survival occur only if mothers smoke during pregnancy. The strongest evidence of the damaging effects of passive smoking on child health is found among children whose mothers smoked during the children's earlier years. Studies have shown that although white women begin smoking at younger ages than do blacks, they are more likely to quit and to do so at young ages. This may account for the excessively high rates of health problems blacks suffer relative to whites. Blacks have lower birth weights, higher infant mortality, and increased child health problems than whites.
In another study it was found that infants who were born to women who quit smoking had the highest mean birth weight, followed
...