Vaping may be more effective than nicotine patches for pregnant women trying to quit smoking.

Vaping may be more effective than nicotine patches for pregnant women trying to quit smoking.

E-cigarettes More Effective Than Nicotine Patches in Helping Pregnant Women Quit Smoking, New Study Shows

Pregnant woman smoking

Smoking during pregnancy is widely known to have detrimental effects on both the mother and the developing baby. However, a new study has found a potentially effective alternative to help pregnant women quit smoking and reduce the risk of low birthweight – e-cigarettes.

The study, conducted by researchers at Queen Mary University of London, compared the effectiveness of e-cigarettes to traditional nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches, in helping pregnant women quit smoking. The results showed that e-cigarettes were not only more effective in aiding smoking cessation but also led to better pregnancy outcomes.

According to Peter Hajek, the director of the Health and Lifestyle Research Unit at Queen Mary University, “E-cigarettes seem more effective than nicotine patches in helping pregnant women to quit smoking and because of this, they seem to also lead to better pregnancy outcomes.”

The study involved 1,140 pregnant women who were attempting to quit smoking. Half of the participants were provided with e-cigarettes, while the other half received nicotine patches. The researchers found that both approaches were equally safe. However, the e-cigarette group had a lower rate of children born with low birthweight, which is often indicative of future health issues. This outcome was likely due to the higher efficacy of e-cigarettes in reducing conventional cigarette use.

Interestingly, the study also revealed that some women who were given nicotine patches ended up quitting smoking with the help of e-cigarettes they acquired on their own. However, even when considering only those who used the assigned treatment, twice as many women were successful in quitting with e-cigarettes compared to nicotine patches.

In addition to smoking cessation rates, the researchers also assessed safety outcomes including low birthweight, baby intensive care admissions, miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature birth. The study found no significant differences in these safety outcomes between the e-cigarette and nicotine patch groups.

The results of this study provide valuable evidence that supports the recommendation for smokers, including pregnant women, to switch from smoking to e-cigarettes. Hajek stated, “The evidence-based advice to smokers already includes, among other options, a recommendation to switch from smoking to e-cigarettes. Such a recommendation can now be extended to smokers who are pregnant as well.”

It is important to note that this research was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research in the U.K. and was published in the NIHR Journals Library.

For more information on smoking during pregnancy, you can visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.


Sources:

  • Queen Mary University of London, news release, Aug. 1, 2023
  • National Institute for Health and Care Research

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