Preventing Smoking Relapse

Preventing Smoking Relapse In Postpartum Women Purpose: Since the 1960s, there has been minimal reduction in the proportion of Canadian women who smoke. Up to 15,000 Canadian women die annually from diseases attributable to smoking, and the rate of lung cancer among women is rising. When women smoke during pregnancy and after childbirth, they put the fetus, neonate, and growing child at risk for several health problems.

The effects of smoking during pregnancy are well known and provide a strong inducement for many women to quit. Half of women quit smoking during pregnancy and remain abstinent for 4 to 9 months. However, studies have revealed that approximately 70% of these women resume smoking shortly after giving birth. Although these rates of relapse are comparable with the rates among quitters in the general population. These women may be unaware of the risks of smoking for their infants and themselves, or more likely they lack the support, skills, or commitment required to maintain long-term abstinence.

English: Smoking any tobacco product, %, Females

English: Smoking any tobacco product, %, Males

Electronic Cigarette Inhalation

The purpose of this study was to test an intervention to help postpartum women to avoid or manage smoking lapses, thereby engancing their likelihood of maintaining continuous smoking abstinence and reducing their risk of daily smoking after the birth of their babies. Three hypotheses were tested: Hypotheses1: The rate of continuous smoking abstinence at 6 months postpartum, based on self-report and biochemical validation, will be significantly higher in the treatment group than in the control group.

Hypothesis 2: The rate of daily smoking at 6 months post-partum will be significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group.

Hypothesis 3: Smoking cessation self-efficacy at 6 months postpartum will be significantly higher in the treatment group than in the control group.

The precipitants of relapse in the postpartum period include demographic and contextual variables such as...