Trends in Tobacco Smoking in Pregnant Women: Data From French National Perinatal Surveys.

Virginie Demiguel,Nolwenn Regnault,Marie-Josèphe Saurel-Cubizolles,Béatrice Blondel,Viêt Nguyen-Thanh,Camille Bonnet

doi:10.3389/ijph.2021.602873

Abstract

Objectives: To describe maternal smoking trends in France between 1972 and 2016, and identify whether maternal characteristics associated with smoking in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy evolved between 2010 and 2016. Methods: Using French National Perinatal Surveys, we estimated proportions of smokers and the number of cigarettes smoked both just before pregnancy and during the 3rd trimester from 1972 to 2016. We used a Poisson model with robust variance to estimate prevalence ratios for smoking during pregnancy. Results: Proportions of mothers quitting smoking were relatively stable (46.0% in 1972 and 45.8% in 2016). The number of cigarettes smoked just before pregnancy and in the 3rd trimester decreased from 1995 onward. However, proportions of smokers remained high before (30.1%) and during the 3rd trimester in 2016 (16.2%). Smoking in the 3rd trimester was associated with a lower education level and lower income in both 2010 and 2016, whereas the association with age, country of birth and parity varied according to the survey year. Conclusion: Early targeted interventions are needed for smokers who plan to have a child and must take smokers’ characteristics during pregnancy into account.

Highlights

Tobacco smoking in women is a serious public health problem in Europe, with a prevalence well above the average in developed countries [1]
Using data from all six French National Perinatal Surveys (NPS) conducted to date, we aimed to describe temporal trends in smoking prevalence, in the proportions of mothers quitting smoking, and in the number of cigarettes smoked by women just before and during pregnancy, between 1972 and 2016
For the most recent years—2010 and 2016—we identified three patterns by comparing the numbers of cigarettes smoked per day just before pregnancy with the number smoked during the 3rd trimester: 1/women who quit smoking during pregnancy, 2/women who reduced their consumption during pregnancy, and 3/women who did not reduce or have increased their consumption during pregnancy

Summary

Introduction

Tobacco smoking in women is a serious public health problem in Europe, with a prevalence well above the average in developed countries [1]. Smoking prevalence in France remained stable between 2010 and 2016 in women aged 25–44 (with just over one-third smoking tobacco on a daily basis) [4, 5]. 41.8% reported quitting smoking during pregnancy [6], despite the French National Authority for Health’s (Haute Autorité de Santé) recommendation not to smoke during this period (www.has-sante.fr). Reported proportion of women quitting smoking during pregnancy differ according to region, and range from 25% in Australia to over 50% in the United States [7, 8]

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Conclusion