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Biggest ever fall in maternal smoking after NHS prevention scheme expanded
Last year saw the biggest ever fall in the proportion of mothers smoking during pregnancy, which campaigners have attributed to expansion of a “stop smoking” programme in maternity services.
Newly published figures for this key public health indicator show the figure dropped by more than a percentage point from 2022-23 to 2023-24, for the first time since 2007-8. The absolute fall in mothers recorded as smoking at the time of delivery was about 6,300.
Anti-smoking charities said it ”follows sustained investment to provide better quit support” and “shows what can be done with proper investment in evidence-based support”.
Much of the new intervention work is done by midwives, and Royal College of Midwives professional policy advisor Clare Livingstone said the drop was “a testament to the dedication and hard work of our maternity services” which had “integrat[ed] smoking cessation support into routine care”.
NHS England’s director for prevention and long-term conditions Matthew Fagg said the reduction was “fantastic” and added: ”With almost all NHS maternity services now offering support to help expectant mums quit smoking… this will protect the health of mums and babies and will help reduce inequalities in outcomes.”
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Source: HSJ, 4 July 2024