Passive smoking in pregnancy

There's no doubt that breathing the smoke from other people's cigarettes (known as passive smoking or second-hand smoking) can harm a child's health. A large amount of research over the past few decades has shown this in many ways.

If you share a home with a smoker then you'll be breathing in over 4,000 toxic chemicals which are released into the atmosphere both by the burning tip of a cigarette (known as sidestream smoke) and by the smoker exhaling cigarette smoke around you (known as mainstream smoke). These include: tar carbon monoxide benzene ammonia formaldehyde hydrogen cyanide

Several major reviews of the evidence have been produced since 2000, confirming that passive smoking can lead to a range of health problems. It's been estimated that 17,000 children under the age of five are admitted to hospital every year in the UK as a result of illnesses resulting from passive smoking.

Your unborn child is already at risk from passive smoking. If you're exposed to cigarette smoke while pregnant then there's an increased risk of: miscarriage ectopic pregnancy premature birth bleeding and placental problems your child being born underweight, which in turn increases the risk of a variety of conditions, from infection to feeding problems your baby having a small head circumference

Once your baby is born passive smoking increases the risk of: sudden infant death syndrome (cot death) poor lung function and respiratory problems, including asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia infections of the middle ear (glue ear) potential harm to learning and behavioural development, including disorders such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) meningococcal infections childhood cancers and leukaemia respiratory disease when they are an adult

Adults exposed to passive smoking are, of course, also at risk from all the problems associated with tobacco smoke. For example, the risk of lung cancer among non-smokers living with smokers is increased by up to 30 per cent. The risk of heart disease may also increase by the same amount.