Pregnant women in Michigan are lighting up at higher rates now than they were several years ago according to a report released Thursday by the Michigan League for Public Policy. Project Director Alicia Guevara Warren says smoking by expectant mothers is up 18 percent, which is startling considering all the knowledge available about the risks. She says more can be done in preventing smoking.

"In fact, we very minimally support these types of programs and the American Lung Association actually grades Michigan an 'F' in smoking prevention and cessation and also for access to these types of programs."

The annual Right Start report on maternal and child health also found the rate of preterm births jumped dramatically, up 20 percent from 2008 to 2014. Smoking during pregnancy is associated with not only preterm births but also low birth weight, infant death and other complications.

Warren says state and federal funds for smoking prevention and cessation initiatives in the 2017 budget were down more than one-third from 2008 levels.