New Research

• A new study published in July 2008 found a definite connection between smoking in the first trimester of pregnancy and an increased risk of having a baby with cleft lip (a split lip that has not closed during development).
• A 2008 analysis of 106 past studies found that smoking clearly increases the risk of colorectal cancer. The connection was stronger for rectal cancer than for colon cancer.
• Research published in February 2008 found that smokers were more at risk of developing aggressive colon polyps, which are considered precursors to colon cancer.

Medication Warning

• Chantix is a pill designed to help people stop smoking. In February 2008 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required that a new warning to be added to the Chantix prescribing information. The warning concerns serious mental health problems that may occur with this medication, including thoughts of suicide or actual suicide attempts.

Risk Factors

• Neglected children, or children with absentee parents, are four times as likely to abuse drugs, drink, and smoke as children living with parents who were regularly present and who offered a structured lifestyle.
• People who have not graduated from high school or received their General Education Development (GED) certificate tend to have higher smoking rates than those who attended college.
• Men and women with mental disorders are 50% more likely to smoke than those without such illness.
• The rate of smoking is highest in the Midwest and South and lowest in the Northeast and West.