Pregnancy and Smoking I. Identification of a Public Health Issue: Currently, each day, approximately 1500 women start smoking for the first time. These new smokers join the ranks of the 22.2 million American women who smoke cigarettes (Ernster, 1993). Of this amount, approximately 20 to 45 percent are pregnant (Windsor, Li, Lowe, Perkins, Ershoff and Glynn, 1993). Smoking during pregnancy leads to very serious consequences for both the mother and the unborn child; however, there are ways to convince pregnant women …showed first 75 words of 1299 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1299 total…I.D., (1984). Attributable risks and public implications. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 75(2): 141-148. Williamson, I.D., Serdula, M., Kendrick J., & Binkin N., (1989). Comparing the prevalence of smoking in pregnant and non-pregnant women. Journal of the American Medical Association, 261: 70-74. Windsor, R.A., Li, C.Q., Lowe, J.B., Perkins, L.L., Ershoff, D. and Glynn T., (1993). The dissemination of smoking cessation methods for pregnant women: Achieving the year 2000 objectives. Journal of Public Health, 83: 173-178.