Detrimental Effects of Prenatal Exposure to Tobacco Smoke and Nicotine

Abstract

Human epidemiological studies clearly show that exposure to tobacco smoke in utero is harmful for the fetus and either directly leads to or increases the risk for a wide variety of negative somatic and neurobehavioral effects in the offspring, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, impaired fertility, respiratory dysfunctions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, and substance abuse. Animal studies confirmed that nicotine alone may be a key chemical responsible for many of the long-term detrimental effects in the offspring whose mothers smoked during pregnancy. The objective of this chapter is to provide an overview of prenatal nicotine and tobacco smoke exposure and its impact on somatic and neurobehavioral aberrations in offspring with special emphasis on preclinical data.