Women who are smokers who become pregnant now have another compelling reason to butt out.

A new study by Brock University researcher Jan Frijters, along with the Yale School of Medicine, found that children of mothers who smoked more than a pack of cigarettes a day score lower on reading tests than their peers born to women who didn’t smoke during their pregnancies.

Frijters said the study, published in an online version of the Journal of Pediatrics ahead of print, found children of smokers will on average be seven places lower in a class of 31 children in reading accuracy and comprehension. That might not sound like such a big deal, but Frijters said it could have life-long implications because of reading’s status as a foundation for learning.

Read the full article in Niagara This Week – St. Catharines.