Lung tissue concentrations of nicotine in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Adverse health effects of prenatal and postnatal tobacco smoke exposure on children

“…Therefore, it is difficult to resolve the role of prenatal smoking per se using epidemiological studies. The fact that infants who died from SIDS had a higher nicotine concentration in their lung tissue compared with non-SIDS cases 43 supports the statement that postnatal ETS exposure is important. 42 43 Possible reasons for the association between passive smoking and SIDS are abnormalities in brain development, with a tendency to central apnoea 44 and disturbed respiratory control mechanisms, 42 including a reduced ventilatory response to hypoxia.…”

Critical Review

“…Prenatal nicotine exposure can permanently alter lung development and airway function (Sandberg, Poole, Hamdan, Arbogast, & Sundell, 2004). Prenatal and postnatal nicotine exposure have been causally implicated in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) (Cohen et al, 2002;Huang, Wang, Dergacheva, & Mendelowitz, 2005;McMartin et al, 2002;Milerad, Vege, Opdal, & Rognum, 1998; US Department of Health and Human Services, 2006). NRT use during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy increased the risk of congenital malformations (Morales-Surez-Varela, Bille, Christensen, & Olsen, 2006).…”

A Qualitative Study of How Families Decide to Adopt Household Smoking Restrictions

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Among adults, exposure to secondhand smoke increases risk of lung cancer and coronary heart disease, exacerbates asthma, and is associated with breast cancer in younger women. 1,9,10 Because of significant progress in restricting secondhand smoke in public places and work sites, as stated in a recent US Surgeon General's report, "The home is now becoming the predominant location for exposure of children and adults to secondhand smoke."…”