NEWS: Smoking in Pregnancy Hits Record Low

As reported by NHS England, NHS support has led to a significant drop in smoking rates among pregnant women, protecting thousands of babies from harm

This year also saw the biggest annual fall in smoking during pregnancy since records began, meaning 6,000 fewer pregnant women smoked when compared to the previous 12 months, protecting thousands of babies from potential harm.

NHS England is working to ensure all maternity services can offer pregnant woman who smoke specialist support to quit – with focused treatment including nicotine replacement therapy. More than 90% of inpatient and maternity services are now delivering smoking cessation services for patients.

The most recent Statistics on Women’s Smoking Status at Time of Delivery shows that 7.4% of women in England were known to be smokers at the end of their pregnancy in 2023-24 – down on last year, when the rate was 8.8%.

Smoking whilst pregnant is extremely dangerous as inhaling carbon monoxide, a harmful chemical present in cigarette smoke, reduces the amount of oxygen getting to the baby in the womb and increases the chance of miscarriage, stillbirth and sudden infant death.

Pregnant smokers are being urged to access dedicated NHS support to help them quit – including nicotine replacement therapy and electronic checks to test their exposure to carbon monoxide.

Kate Brintworth, Chief Midwifery Officer for NHS England, said: “It is extremely encouraging to see that the number of pregnant women smoking has reached the lowest level ever, in part thanks to our brilliant teams of midwives and the specialist support we provide to expectant mums through our maternity services.

“We want to help even more pregnant women to kick the habit and will continue to provide dedicated support to anyone accessing our maternity services – so if you are considering having a baby or recently pregnant and looking for support to quit, please do speak to your maternity team, they are here to help.”

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust have also been focusing on reducing the number of pregnant women smoking at the time of giving birth by providing immediate access to a tobacco dependency advisor from the beginning of pregnancy.

This is helping to improve engagement and uptake of smoking cessation services for those communities most likely to smoke, with latest data showing just 4.7% of women in their area are now smoking at time of giving birth.

The NHS supports the government’s ambition for a smoke-free UK, with a focus on stopping people from starting to smoke.

NHS England’s latest Statistics on Public Health report, published today, shows there were 412,536 prescription items dispensed to help smokers give up the habit, a decrease of 42% from 2019/20 (709,968) and 69% lower than 2014/15 (1,348,162).

Smoking rates are continuing to fall – the most recent Health Survey for England found 13% of adults said they smoked cigarettes in 2022, compared to 27% in 1993.

Adults living in the most deprived areas were more likely to smoke than those living in the least deprived areas. About one in five adults living in deprived areas smoked (21%), compared to just under one in 10 of those in the least deprived areas (9%).

Separate recent data showed that in 2023-24, 104,125 people successfully quit using Stop Smoking Services in England.