A better way to help high-risk pregnant smokers

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/w-abw062112.php

Public release date: 21-Jun-2012
Contact: Stephanie Desmon
Wiley-Blackwell

Cigarette smoking among drug dependent pregnant women is alarmingly high, estimated at 77 to 99%. Programs that treat pregnant patients for substance use disorders often fail to address cigarette smoking despite the clear risks to both mother and child, including ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, preterm delivery, low birth weight, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. However, programs to help people quit smoking do not seem to interfere with drug abuse treatment, and may actually improve drug abstinence rates.

One of the most effective methods of helping people to quit smoking is contingency management, which gives smokers monetary incentives for meeting target goals. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University's Center for Addiction and Pregnancy recently used contingency management to shape smoking reduction and abstinence in drug-dependent pregnant women, with promising results.

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