Partner involvement in smoking cessation

Abstract

This paper reports the findings from a study which investigated the influence a partner's smoking status can have on the ability of a woman to stop smoking during pregnancy. The prevalence of smoking during pregnancy and the potential for partner involvement in smoking cessation in Leeds is also investigated. The findings indicate that women whose smoking partner stops smoking for the pregnancy are more likely to give up themselves, compared to women whose partners continue to smoke (adjusted odds ratio 6.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2–34.6; P=0.034). The study revealed the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy to be 20% (95% CI, 12–28%; P<0.05). However, 65% (95% CI 56–74%; P<0.05) of the partners who smoke were unable to attend antenatal clinics where smoking cessation intervention takes place. The high prevalence of smoking during pregnancy reveals the continued need to seek more innovative approaches to the promotion of smoking cessation in pregnancy. Partner involvement could potentially be of paramount importance for the success of such intervention during pregnancy and long-term smoking cessation. Before effective intervention can be designed to target the partners, the presence of partners at antenatal clinics requires investigation, in particular their levels of attendance and the reasons for any absence.