Smoking During Pregnancy Increased

The percentage of women who smoke while pregnant has gone up in some Northern Kentucky counties even though the rates are falling across the state and nationwide. Between 2005 and 2009, the percentage of women who smoke while pregnant increased from 34 percent to 39 percent in Grant County and from 18 percent to 19 percent in Boone County. Among the counties served by the Northern Kentucky Independent District Health Department, only Campbell County showed a decrease during the reporting period, from 32 percent to 24 percent. In Kenton County, the percentage remained the same, at 30 percent. The risks of smoking during pregnancy are well-documented. Premature delivery, low birth weight and higher incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome are just some of the dangers linked to smoking while pregnant.

No Smoking Warnings, U.S. Smoking Rate

The United States Government is starting a major new effort to cut the country's smoking rate by showing graphic images of people who have sustained life-altering health problems after smoking for years. The U.S. smoking rate peaked at more than 40 percent of the adult population in the mid-1960s, but government health officials say the rates have stagnated at about 20 percent in the last decade, a rate substantially lower than in some European and Asian countries, but still higher than in other places. One recent study showed that one out of four high school seniors in the country is a regular cigarette smoker, a rate the government described as a “pediatric epidemic.”