Nicotine Patches do not appear to help pregnant smokers quit, study shows

Nicotine patches do not appear to help pregnant smokers to quit, according to a study. Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes and may have long lasting effects in offspring.

In England, 26% of women smoke in the year before their pregnancy and 12% smoke through to delivery. The rate is similar or even higher in other high income countries.

Guidelines suggest adding nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) to behavioral smoking cessation support in pregnant smokers because of their excellent safety profile and proved effectiveness in other groups of smokers. However, there is a lack of good quality evidence on the effectiveness of NRT in pregnant smokers.