Shopping vouchers can help new mothers stay off cigarettes, Stirling University study shows

New mothers who stop smoking during pregnancy are less likely to resume the habit after giving birth if they receive high street vouchers, a study has shown.

The study, which was led by the University of Stirling, saw researchers give high street shopping vouchers to hundreds of new mothers who had stopped smoking during pregnancy, to compare the effect with mothers who only received normal post-natal care.

Researchers found that 40% of the participants who received the most vouchers (£300 worth of vouchers over 12 months) had still not smoked when their child reached their first birthday.

Of the participants who received fewer vouchers (£180 worth of vouchers over three months), 21% remained smoke-free when their child reached one.

This compares with 28% of the participants in the study who only received the usual post-natal care.

Professor Michael Ussher, lead author of the study, said: “We know that most women who stop smoking during pregnancy return to smoking soon afterwards, which can cause significant health problems for the mother and her family.

“Our study shows that high street vouchers, provided over 12 months, could help women avoid returning to smoking after their baby is born.

“Most women who smoke in pregnancy and postpartum live in the UK’s most deprived communities, areas hardest hit by the cost of living crisis. These vouchers have helped women to stay smoke-free but also to save money by not buying cigarettes.”

Previous studies have shown voucher schemes to be effective in helping women to stop smoking during pregnancy, but this is the first study to suggest that such schemes could help mothers stay smoke-free after their child is born.

The study involved a total of 462 participants, one-third of whom were given £300 worth of vouchers over 12 months, one-third of whom received £180 of vouchers over three months, and one-third of whom only received ordinary post-natal care.

As many as three-quarters of women who stop smoking in pregnancy are likely to return to smoking within six months of giving birth, increasing their risks of smoking-related illness and mortality as well as their children’s risks of health problems due to second-hand smoke and of becoming smokers.

This study, alongside previous pregnancy studies, is now informing a national, government-supported scheme in England to offer vouchers in pregnancy and postpartum to all pregnant women who smoke.

Research is ongoing to see if the women who were not smoking when their baby was one year old are still not smoking a year or more later.