The scientists base their findings on over 3,000 mothers and their children, who were part of a long term pregnancy study in Brisbane, Australia (MUSP) in 1981.
The study is published in the journal Tobacco Control.
The authors assessed the smoking patterns of the children when they reached the age of 21 in relation to the behavior of their mothers during the pregnancy. Around a third of the women said that they had smoked during their pregnancy.
The proportion of the children who took up regular smoking was greater among those whose mothers had smoked during the pregnancy than among those whose mothers had not.
Smoking patterns among children whose mothers stopped smoking while pregnant, but then resumed the habit, were similar to those whose mothers had never smoked.
The findings held true even after adjusting for other factors likely to influence the results.
The authors conclude that their research provides some evidence that smoking during pregnancy has a direct effect on the child’s chances of becoming a smoker. And they suggest that their findings are another reason why pregnant women should be discouraged from smoking.
The full paper may be viewed at http://press.psprings.co.uk/tc/december/452_tc16790.pdf
Source: British Medical Journal
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