The risk of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and preterm delivery, in the group of 551 females from the area of Lódź, was related to the amount of cigarettes smoked per day. In subjects smoking 1-20 cigarettes a day, the risk of IUGR and preterm delivery was three times as high as in the nonsmoking females. The study has not provided any clear evidence for the prepregnancy smoking and the passive smoking as the risk factors for the pathologies under study.