Smoking and the developing lungs

It's well known that smoking during pregnancy damages the developing lungs, increasing the risk of infections in newborns. Researcher Cherry Wongtrakool thinks this damage could extend all the way into adulthood, explaining some of the cases of asthma she sees in her clinic. To work out exactly how this damage occurs, Cherry and colleagues have been taking a closer look at nicotine, the fat soluble and addictive component of tobacco. On this podcast, Cherry explains how nicotine crosses the placenta and affects the function of immune cells in the lung.

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