Workplace secondhand smoke exposure during pregnancy: Who is protected?
by Candice Y. Johnson, Ph.D.
There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, and avoiding this preventable health hazard is particularly important for the health of pregnant women and their unborn babies. Secondhand smoke exposure is associated with chronic diseases such as lung cancer, coronary heart disease, and stroke and with adverse reproductive effects, including low birth weight, when mothers are exposed during pregnancy. However, some women cannot avoid secondhand smoke during pregnancy because many workplaces still allow smoking. Although a lot of progress has been made in making U.S. workplaces smoke-free, only 26 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have laws requiring all private workplaces, restaurants, and bars to be smoke-free. In the other 24 states, pregnant women may be unable to avoid secondhand smoke if smoking is allowed in their workplace.