Pregnant women's use of tobacco and electronic cigarettes: A cross sectional survey

Objectives. - The article aims to describe tobacco and e-cigarette use among pregnant women: estimate the prevalence, identify the determinants and motivations of these behaviours.Methods. - Cross-sectional, multicentre, descriptive observational study using self-administered questionnaires for pregnant women who visited ELENA healthcare centers in May 2021.Results. - Of 223 patients, 38% were smokers before pregnancy and 16% continued to smoke during pregnancy. Nearly all the smokers (98%) declared that they had reduced or stopped their tobacco use, mostly without help. Young age, lack of professional activity, an unfavourable reaction to the announcement of the pregnancy, heavy smoking before the pregnancy and the presence of a smoker spouse were associated with smoking during pregnancy. Our study identified 10% of vapers before pregnancy and 7.2% during pregnancy. Of those who vaped during pregnancy, 81% were smokers before pregnancy. Most of them used a nicotine containing liquid and 38% of vapers combined smoking and e-cigarettes during pregnancy. There was no association between vaping during pregnancy and smoking cessation. A minority of women had received information about smoking during pregnancy.Conclusions. - The use of electronic cigarettes by pregnant women is a poorly-known reality in France, yet it concerns approximately 7% of the women in our sample. Prospective studies on larger numbers are needed to assess the prevalence of vaping among French pregnant women and its evolution during pregnancy.(c) 2023 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.