Voucher scheme could help Scottish mums-to-be to stub it out

The research, published in the BMJ, involved 1,000 pregnant women from the UK who smoked.

During the trial, half the women received standard Stop Smoking Services care.

The other half had the same prenatal care with the addition of £400 in high street Love2Shop vouchers.

More than a quarter (26.8%) of pregnant women from the group with the vouchers quit smoking by the end of their pregnancy, researchers found.

Just 12.3% of pregnant women from the other group stopped.

Professor David Tappin, lead author of the study from the University of Glasgow, said: “Through this study, we have shown that the offer of high street vouchers, when offered in tandem with the current UK Stop Smoking Services, is highly effective at more than doubling smoking cessation during pregnancy, with a reduction in NHS costs over the long term.

“Pregnant smokers are usually on low incomes.

“Stopping smoking saves £70-£100 per week by not buying cigarettes.”

The nationwide study was led by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, Queen’s University Belfast, and the Universities of Stirling and York.

It took place at seven different sites across the UK – in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland – and confirmed results through nicotine saliva testing.

The participants were tested for smoking status between weeks 34 and 38 of pregnancy. Most who quit from both groups relapsed after their baby was born.

But the study is ongoing to extend support, with financial voucher incentives, for 12 months after the baby is born to see if mothers are more likely to remain non-smokers.

Researchers said smoking during pregnancy is responsible for significant ill health and death among women and their children, including 7% of childhood hospital admissions for respiratory infection, 20% of infant deaths and 30% of babies born underweight.

In Scotland between 1995 and 2019, self-reported smoking among pregnant women declined from 30.5% to 14.6% – which researchers said matched falls in the rates of miscarriages and small births.

The study was funded by Cancer Research UK, the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office, HSC Public Health Agency Northern Ireland, HSC R&D Division NI, Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke, The Scottish Cot Death Trust and The Lullaby Trust.