It has been suggested that the period between puberty and first birth is a time when the breast is particularly susceptible to carcinogenic effects. In a cohort of 3047 women aged 60-79 years (N=139 breast cancer cases), we found no association between smoking before the birth of a first child and breast cancer risk: fully adjusted (for age, number of children, age at birth of first child, age at menarche, age at menopausal, hysterectomy and/or oophorectomy, ever use of oral contraception, use of hormone replacement therapy, alcohol consumption, body mass index, childhood and adulthood social class) odds ratio 1.06 (95% confidence interval: 0.72, 1.56). The pooled estimate from a meta-analysis of our study and 11 previously published studies (N=6528 cases) was 1.07 (0.94, 1.22). We conclude that smoking prior to the birth of a first child is not associated with increased risk of breast cancer.