Pregnant Smokers: Don’t Light Up During First Two Weeks of Cessation Program
Previous research has shown that cigarette use during the first two weeks of a smoking cessation program predicts short- and longer-term cigarette use. Now, new NIDA-supported research extends this finding to pregnant women.
Researchers at the University of Vermont evaluated data from 129 pregnant women who had participated in or were participating in two smoking cessation studies at the time of the analysis. Women in each trial were assigned to one of two treatments—they either received vouchers exchangeable for retail items based on breath, saliva, and urine tests that verified smoking abstinence; or received incentives independent of smoking status. Vouchers were available from study entry through four months after giving birth.
Dr. Stephen Higgins and his colleagues found that among women who received vouchers based on verified abstinence, those who smoked during the first two weeks of a smoking cessation program had a 79-percent chance of smoking at the end of assessment three months later; those who were abstinent during the first two weeks had only an 11-percent chance of being a smoker at the final assessment. Among the participants who received incentives independent of smoking status, those who smoked during the first two weeks had a 92-percent chance of being classified a smoker at the end of the trial, while those who were abstinent had a 50-percent chance of being classified a smoker then.
- WHAT IT MEANS: Among pregnant women entering a smoking cessation program, the act of smoking during the first two weeks of the quit attempt can be highly predictive of cigarette use three months later. Clinicians should closely monitor smoking status during the initial weeks of treatment. Clinicians also should continue to facilitate smoking cessation among pregnant women who initially fail in an effort to provide a more beneficial environment to the fetus or child.
The study was available online in Drug and Alcohol Dependence as of May 23, 2006.
NIDA NewsScan #46 - Women & Substance Abuse Issue - October 13 Issue
