Who is most at risk for harm caused by Environmental tobacco smoke?
Although ETS is dangerous to everyone, fetuses, infants and children are at most risk because damage occurs on the developing organs, especially the lungs and brain. Maternal, fetal, and placental blood flow change when pregnant women smoke because the amount of available oxygen is reduced due to the tobacco contaminants. Although the long-term health effects of these changes are not known, some studies suggest that smoking during pregnancy causes birth defects such as cleft lip or palate. Studies further show that smoking mothers produce less milk, give birth to low-birth weight babies, and are also associated with neonatal death from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
