Financial incentives for sustained smoking abstinence in pregnancy

Tobacco smoking during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of stillbirth, low birth weight, preterm birth, sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, and obesity among offspring.1 Pregnancy is therefore an important window of opportunity to promote smoking cessation. Despite the risks, a substantial proportion of women worldwide still smoke during pregnancy.2Behavioural support and nicotine replacement therapy can support attempts to stop smoking during pregnancy.34 Financial incentives for pregnant smokers can increase smoking cessation rates further,5678 and the linked paper by Tappin and colleagues (doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-071522) adds evidence to support this.9 A major strength of this large trial is its pragmatic nature, with direct implications for implementation within the UK National Health Service.Pregnant women from the trial’s control group (n=470) received usual care, (behavioural support) provided by a stop smoking service, plus optional nicotine replacement therapy. The intervention group (n=471) received the same care and in addition were eligible to receive up…
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