E-Cigarette Use in Pregnancy Tied to Higher Abstinence Rate in Final Trimester

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 20, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Individuals who use electronic cigarettes during pregnancy have a higher smoking abstinence rate in late pregnancy than individuals who use nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), according to a study published online Sept. 12 in JAMA Network Open.

Xiaozhong Wen, M.D., Ph.D., from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and colleagues examined the effectiveness of e-cigarette use versus NRT with smoking abstinence among U.S. pregnant individuals who smoke combustible cigarettes. The analysis included 1,329 pregnant individuals participating in the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (2016 to 2020) who smoked cigarettes before pregnancy. Participants' self-reported smoking abstinence status during the last three months of pregnancy was the primary outcome.

The researchers found that compared with individuals who used NRT during pregnancy, individuals who used e-cigarettes had a higher rate of smoking abstinence in late pregnancy (50.8 versus 19.4 percent; propensity score adjusted odds ratio, 2.47; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.17 to 5.20; P = 0.02). When stratified by the timing of e-cigarette use initiation, existing users of e-cigarettes who initiated before pregnancy had a higher smoking abstinence rate than NRT users (53.1 versus 19.4 percent; adjusted odds ratio, 2.61; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.23 to 5.51; P = 0.01). New e-cigarette users who initiated use during pregnancy had a similar smoking abstinence rate in late pregnancy versus NRT users (20.6 versus 19.4 percent; adjusted odds ratio, 1.13; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.22 to 5.87; P = 0.88).

"There is an urgent need for research on maternal e-cigarette use, as e-cigarettes have been increasingly used by young people, including pregnant individuals," Wen said in a statement. "Our pregnant patients want to know more about the pros and cons of using e-cigarettes compared to cigarettes. However, we don’t know that much about e-cigarette use during pregnancy, a substantial research gap."

One author disclosed financial ties to Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

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