Research targets smoking in pregnancy

News release from the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment

18 January 2007

New research commissioned by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme will investigate whether Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is an effective method for helping pregnant women to give up smoking. Smoking during pregnancy is a major public health problem, accounting for around 4,000 foetal deaths in the UK annually and causing problems such as low birth weight, pre-term birth, sudden infant death syndrome and asthma.

Led by Dr Tim Coleman of Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham , the £1.3 million clinical trial will investigate whether NRT is effective and cost-effective for smoking cessation in pregnancy, and whether it has any effect on the subsequent behaviour and development of children at two years.

Current best practice for non-pregnant smokers is to offer behavioural support and either NRT or bupropion. However, bupropion is contraindicated in pregnancy, and although guidance to health professionals recommends that NRT can be used, the effectiveness of NRT in pregnancy has not been tested in definitive clinical trials.

“Women are highly motivated to stop smoking when they are pregnant,” says Dr Coleman. “If NRT is demonstrated to be effective in pregnancy, it could help more women to successfully stop smoking, improving their own health and that of their unborn child.”

To view full details about this project or register to be email alerted when the project publishes, visit www.hta.ac.uk/project/1512.asp

Notes for editors


  1. The HTA programme is a programme of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and produces high quality research information about the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. It is the largest of the NIHR programmes and publishes the results of its research in the Health Technology Assessment journal, with more than 400 issues published to date. The journal’s 2007 Impact Factor (3.87) ranked it in the top 10% of medical and health-related journals. All issues are available for download free of charge from the website, www.hta.ac.uk The HTA programme is coordinated by the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment (NCCHTA), based at the University of Southampton.
  2. The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility.  The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training.  Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients. www.nihr.ac.uk

Contact details

Naomi Stockley, Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 646, Email: ns5@soton.ac.uk

Helen Nikandrou, Assistant Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 584, Email: h.nikandrou@soton.ac.uk

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