In the United States, tobacco consumption is still at large, even during this new era of e-cigarettes and vaping. According to findings from 2018, about 34.2 million adults were smokers, and about more than half had some kind of smoking-related illness.

Since there are so many cigarette smokers in the United States, we also discovered that some of these smokers happen to be pregnant mothers. The interactive map below gives us a visual of the percentages of expecting mothers who smoked at some point during pregnancy by each state.

The map’s data shows us that the state with the highest percentage of moms who at least smoked one cigarette while with-child was more prevalent in the state of West Virginia (25.1%). California (1.6%) had the lowest percentage of moms who smoked.

5 States with the Highest Percentage

  1. West Virginia 25.1
  2. Kentucky 18.4
  3. Montana 16.5
  4. Vermont 15.5
  5. Missouri 15.3

5 States with the Lowest Percentage

  1. California 1.6
  2. District of Columbia 2.6
  3. Utah 3
  4. Texas 3.3
  5. Hawaii 3.6

We believe that these results reflect the individual state smoking regulations that are enforced. State’s like West Virginia are less strict with their regulations against tobacco usage. Truth points out that West Virginia currently has no smoking restrictions for smoking in private workplaces, restaurants, and retail stores. West Virginia was also ranked higher than the national average percentage (17%) of smoking adults in 2017.

The Effects of Smoking During Pregnancy

For both cigarettes and e-cigarette products, smoking can increase the risk of serious health problems for babies including:

• Respiratory complications
• Low weight
• Preterm or premature Birth
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Even if it was one cigarette during a 9 month period, tobacco and nicotine consumption during pregnancy can risk health issues. A study conducted by The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that 22% of sudden unexpected infant deaths in the united states are related to maternal tobacco consumption during pregnancy. CDC’s data points out that there were 3,600 cases of SUIDs in the U.S. in the year 2017.