Contributor: Don Stader, MD

Educational Pearls:

• On average, smoking reduces life expectancy by 13.2 years for men and for 14.5 years for women
• Nicotine is highly addictive and has both stimulant and calming effects
• Having a newborn can be a strong motivator to quit so take advantage and educate new (or expecting) parents to the risks of smoking and benefits of quitting
• Smoking has been associated with sudden infant death
• Biggest predictor of children smoking is seeing their parents smoking
• Side effects of smoking that can be discussed with patients are cataracts/blindness, cancers (lung and throat), coronary artery disease, early menopause, osteoporosis/fractures, and impotency

References

Haug S, Schaub MP, Schmid H. Predictors of adolescent smoking cessation and smoking reduction. Patient Educ Couns. 2014;95(3):378-383. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2014.03.004

Mays D, Gilman SE, Rende R, Luta G, Tercyak KP, Niaura RS. Parental smoking exposure and adolescent smoking trajectories. Pediatrics. 2014;133(6):983-991. doi:10.1542/peds.2013-3003

Anderson TM, Lavista Ferres JM, Ren SY, et al. Maternal Smoking Before and During Pregnancy and the Risk of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death. Pediatrics. 2019;143(4):e20183325. doi:10.1542/peds.2018-3325

Summarized by Jackson Roos, MS4 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD