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Anemia is a condition of inadequate hemoglobin, due either to defects in hemoglobin formation or a reduced number of red blood cells. Cigarette smoking is known to cause an increase in the level of hemoglobin, apparently as a response to the tight chemical bond that becomes established between carbon monoxide (a by-product of tobacco smoking) and hemoglobin. The effects of smoking on the measured level of hemoglobin were analyze among 2,250 males and 2,454 women between 18 and 44 years of age. Smoking history, hemoglobin level and socioeconomic status of all individuals were known. There was no significant difference in hemoglobin levels between individuals who had never smoked and those who had given up the habit. However, cigarette smoking was found to cause elevated hemoglobin in both men and women. The underestimation of anemia in smokers as the result of the elevation of hemoglobin was seen as significant. The compensation values presented in this article should be applied to the hemoglobin values of all smokers in order to detect possible anemia. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Children who have adverse experiences may be more likely to smoke when they grow up. Researchers analyzed the rate of 8 adverse childhood experiences among 9,215 adults, of whom 40% of the women were current or former smokers and 60% of the men were. The 8 categories of adverse childhood experiences included emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, a battered mother, parental separation or divorce, and growing up with a substance-abusing, mentally ill, or incarcerated household member. Sixty-three percent reported one or more experiences and those with 5 or more were 2 to 3 times more likely to smoke.

Women who were abused as children or who witnessed family violence may be more likely to have an unplanned pregnancy. In a study of 1,193 women who had been pregnant, 45% said the pregnancy had not been planned. Sixty-six percent said they had been exposed to two or more types of family violence as children. Women who were exposed to family violence were more likely to have an unplanned pregnancy than other women.