Criminal defense investigators working cases for those charged with a capital crime search out mitigating factors in the defendant’s life: mental illness, parental maltreatment or substance abuse. Add cigarette smoking to the list. The link between in utero smoke exposure and antisocial behavior has been demonstrated in prior studies. The new wrinkle is that males exposed to cigarette smoke in the womb are more likely to repeatedly commit violent criminal offenses into adulthood.

8 percent of the sons of women who smoked no cigarettes during their third trimester of pregnancy were later involved in violent crime. The figure for women who smoked 10 to 20 cigarettes a day was about 15 percent. For women who smoked more than 20 cigarettes, it was about 17 percent.

Smoking. Just another way to damage your central nervous system.

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