DECREASED FETAL WEIGHTS IN RATS EXPOSED TO SIDESTREAM CIGARETTE-SMOKE

Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to sidestream cigarette smok e (SS) for 6 hr a day, at a concentration of 1 mg/m(3) of respirable t otal suspended particulate material (TSP) on Days 3, 6-10, and 13-17 o f pregnancy. Controls were kept in an identical chamber without smoke exposure. The animals were killed on Day 20 of gestation. No differenc es were found in maternal body weight gain or average daily food consu mption between the smoke-exposed and control groups. The numbers of fe tuses and of implantation sites per litter were comparable among the g roups. None of the pups showed any gross malformations and no differen ce was found between controls and SS-exposed pups when examined for re duced skeletal ossifications. However, there was a small but significa nt reduction in mean pup weight. We conclude that intermittent exposur e of rats to sidestream cigarette smoke at concentrations severalfold greater than those encountered in smokey public indoor environments ca uses intrauterine growth retardation. (C) 1994 Society of Toxicology.