Did you know that widely published research says there’s a significant risk of ADHD and Autism in children born to mothers who smoke cannabis or cigarettes during pregnancy? The research is clear, (see lots of citations at the end of the post) but the details reveal some surprising twists – and all is not as it seems.
Here are the basic facts as they appear in the published research:
- High-Risk Group: Children of women who smoke both cannabis and cigarettes are born with the highest risk for ADHD and Autism.
- Moderate-Risk Group: Children of cigarette-only smokers have a somewhat lower risk than dual smokers but their risk is higher than for the children of cannabis-only smokers.
- Lowest-Risk Group: Kids of cannabis-only smokers have the lowest levels of risk among the three groups, but they still face significantly elevated risks compared to non-smokers.
But hold on – there’s a critical factor being overlooked, and that’s the almost universal contamination of cannabis and tobacco products with pesticides.
There’s a large body of research that consistently shows a strong link between maternal pesticide exposure during pregnancy and increased rates of ADHD and Autism in children. However, none of the existing studies on smoking consider whether the cannabis or tobacco smoked was organic and pesticide-free. In research that’s called the presence of unrecognized confounding variables and in this case the variables are powerful and confounding enough to justify throwing out all the Tobacco and Cannabis health research on smokers for the past 70 years.
The Pesticide Factor: Why does this matter?
Because those unknown confounding variables are pesticide chemicals that are a known (and 100% preventable) risk factor. Chronic low-level exposure to pesticides during pregnancy has been repeatedly associated with high rates of ADHD and Autism in children. The same applies to paternal pesticide exposure, by the way, and those damaged sperm can be equally responsible for ADHD and Autism in the kids – so whether Mom or Dad is a smoker the child is at increased risk.
Tipping the Balance of Autism Risk: Potential Mechanisms Linking Pesticides and Autism
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3404662/
Autism Spectrum Disorder and Prenatal or Early Life Exposure to Pesticides: A Short Review
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8535369/
Bottom line – none of the research on smoking and its effects on pregnancy includes subjects smoking organic, pesticide-free cannabis or tobacco. This means we don’t know if the well-established risks associated with smoking these substances are due to the plant itself or in part or completely due to exposure to the pesticides they contain.
What Do We Know?
- Cigarettes + Cannabis: Higher ADHD risk than either substance alone.
- Cigarettes Only: Higher ADHD risk compared to cannabis only.
- Cannabis Only: Lower ADHD risk than cigarettes.
- Pesticide Exposure: High risk of childhood ADHD.
- Organic Products: Risks unknown due to lack of research.
A Totally Preventable Risk
The ADHD risk from tobacco/cannabis pesticide inhalation is 100% preventable. Organic, pesticide-free products exist and are sold profitably, such as American Spirit organic tobacco cigarettes and pesticide-free medical marijuana. While the tobacco industry is unlikely to change its ways, the cannabis community already has a core of dedicated organic growers and considering the consequences, these growers should be highly incentivized by state and federal governments. And by the way, I attribute the lower rates of ADHD and Autism in children of cannabis smokers, along with a generally lower rate of chronic diseases of all kinds in cannabis smokers themselves, to the powerful therapeutic effects of cannabis, and perhaps especially the marvelous cannabis terpenes.
Bottom line: Pesticide contamination is a preventable risk factor. Eliminating it would significantly reduce the harm to both mother and child, as well as the long-term costs to society from maternal and/or paternal smoking.
CITATIONS: MATERNAL PESTICIDE EXPOSURE & CHILDHOOD ADHD
“Maternal exposure to pesticides and autism or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders in offspring: A meta-analysis”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36470360/
“900+ studies were reviewed and 19 selected. Overall, maternal pesticide exposure was positively related to childhood ASD with a 19% increase in risk, and to ADHD with a 20% increase in risk.”
“According to a regression model calculated by researchers, each time maternal urinary concentrations of generic pyrethroid metabolites doubled, it was associated with a 3% higher expected ADHD score, and a 13% higher chance of the child scoring in the 90thpercentile. The results were similar regardless of gender reported.”
“Children’s low-level pesticide exposure and associations with autism and ADHD: a review” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30337670/
“The available evidence supports the hypothesis that pesticide exposure at levels that do not cause acute toxicity may be among the multifactorial causes of ADHD and ASD, though further study is needed, especially for some of the newer pesticides.”
MATERNAL CIGARETTE SMOKING & CHILDHOOD ADHD
Smoking in Pregnancy and Child ADHD
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5260151/
Association of Maternal Smoking during Pregnancy with Neurophysiological and ADHD-Related Outcomes in School-Aged Children
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10048892/
Maternal Smoking and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Offspring: A Meta-analysis
PATERNAL CIGARETTE SMOKING & CHILDHOOD ADHD
“Parental smoking exposure before and during pregnancy and offspring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder risk: A Chinese child and adolescent cohort study“
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9589153/
“Children whose fathers smoked before pregnancy had a higher risk of developing ADHD [odds ratio (OR) = 2.59, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.35–4.98] compared to those whose fathers had never been exposed to smoking.”
“Similarly, parents who were exposed to smoking or second-hand smoke before pregnancy had 1.96 times (OR = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.19–3.22) more likely to have offspring with ADHD.”
“Moreover, children whose parents were exposed to smoking both before and during pregnancy were 2.01 times (OR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.29–3.12) more likely to develop ADHD.”
Maternal and Paternal Smoking During Pregnancy and Risk of ADHD Symptoms in Offspring
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3406617
“Offspring ADHD symptoms were associated with exposure to both maternal and paternal smoking during pregnancy (mothers: β = 0.25, 95% confidence interval: 0.18, 0.32; fathers: β = 0.21, 95% confidence interval: 0.15, 0.27).
When paternal smoking was examined in the absence of maternal smoking, associations remained and did not appear to be due to passive smoking exposure in utero.”
MATERNAL CANNABIS SMOKING & CHILDHOOD ADHD
NOTE: No published cannabis smoking or vaping studies, on pregnant women or otherwise, include any pesticide residue data – pesticide residues on the cannabis that the study subjects were inhaling – meaning that up to 100% of the observed effects of “Cannabis smoking” could be due to pesticides functioning as unrecognized confounding variables skewing the data.
“Prenatal cannabis use and the risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder in offspring: A systematic review and meta-analysis”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38281464/
The study found that children whose mothers used cannabis during pregnancy are more likely to show symptoms of ADHD or be diagnosed with ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to children whose mothers did not use cannabis during pregnancy.”
“Cannabis use during pregnancy linked to increased risk of ADHD, autism and intellectual disability in children”
Key findings were that children born to mothers with prenatal Cannabis use displayed a 98% increased risk of ADHD, a 94% increased risk of ASD, and a 46% increased risk of ID compared to offspring without such exposure.
Interestingly, the study also identified a significant interaction effect between prenatal cannabis use and maternal smoking. Children born to mothers with both prenatal cannabis use and a history of smoking during pregnancy exhibited an even higher risk of developing ADHD, ASD, and ID.
Finally, if you find this whole scam disgusting and would like to learn more about the players, please check out some of my other posts on the topic:
Calling Out FDA – 50+ Years of Tobacco Research Fraud
Cannabis, Tobacco & Pesticides: Side by Side
https://wordpress.com/post/panaceachronicles.com/96776
Ruined Lives: Pesticides, Smoking, & Unborn Children https://wordpress.com/post/panaceachronicles.com/95725
panaceachronicles 
Conflating Cannabis with tobacco and unknown levels of unspecified ‘pesticides’ is extremely unprofessional.
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Inhaling pesticides is inhaling pesticides regardless of the source, and the consequences are the same regardless of the source.
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