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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
19:15

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale

Published on: August 25, 2014

Critical review: nicotine for the fetus, the infant and the adolescent?

K H Ginzel1, Gert S Maritz, David F Marks

  • 1khginzel@yahoo.com

Journal of Health Psychology
|February 8, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Nicotine Replacement Therapy should not be used by pregnant women or children. Nicotine poses risks including fetotoxicity and neurodevelopmental issues, impacting cognitive and behavioral development in children.

Area of Science:

  • Toxicology
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is increasingly prescribed to pregnant women and children.
  • The physiological impacts of nicotine on developing organisms are not fully considered in NRT expansion.
  • Nicotine is implicated in tobacco-related carcinogenesis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight the risks of nicotine exposure during pregnancy and childhood.
  • To question the efficacy and safety of NRT in vulnerable populations.
  • To advocate for the avoidance of nicotine in pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, children, and adolescents.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on nicotine's physiological effects.
  • Analysis of toxicological and teratogenic data concerning nicotine.
  • Evaluation of NRT efficacy and safety profiles in specific demographics.

Main Results:

  • Nicotine impairs essential physiological functions and is linked to carcinogenesis.
  • Nicotine exhibits fetotoxicity and neuroteratogenicity, leading to developmental disorders.
  • The efficacy of NRT for nicotine addiction is debated, even in adults.

Conclusions:

  • Nicotine poses significant risks to fetal development and the growing organism.
  • Neurodevelopmental, cognitive, affective, and behavioral disorders can result from prenatal nicotine exposure.
  • Nicotine use must be strictly avoided during pregnancy, breastfeeding, childhood, and adolescence due to its detrimental effects.

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