Are E-cigarettes associated with postpartum return to smoking? Secondary analyses of a UK pregnancy longitudinal cohort

Orton, Sophie; Taylor, Lauren; Laing, Libby; Lewis, Sarah; Ussher, Michael; Coleman, Tim; Cooper, Sue

Abstract

Objectives: Postpartum return to smoking (PPRS) is an important public health problem. E-cigarette (EC) use has increased in recent years, and in a contemporary UK pregnancy cohort, we investigated factors, including ECs use, associated with PPRS.

Design: Secondary analyses of a longitudinal cohort survey with questionnaires at baseline (8–26 weeks’ gestation), late pregnancy (34–36 weeks) and 3 months after delivery.

Setting: 17 hospitals in England and Scotland in 2017.

Participants: The cohort recruited 750 women who were current or recent ex-smokers and/or EC users. A subgroup of women reported being abstinent from smoking in late pregnancy (n=162, 21.6%), and of these 137 (84.6%) completed the postpartum questionnaire and were included in analyses.

Outcome measures: Demographics, smoking behaviours and beliefs, views and experience of ECs and infant feeding.

Results: 35.8% (95% CI 28% to 44%) of women reported PPRS. EC use in pregnancy (adjusted OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.85) and breast feeding (adjusted OR 0.06, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.24) were inversely associated with PPRS, while household member smoking at 3 months post partum was positively associated with PPRS (adjusted OR 11.1, 95% CI 2.47 to 50.2).

Conclusion: EC use in pregnancy could influence PPRS. Further research is needed to confirm this and investigate whether ECs could be used to prevent PPRS.

Citation

Orton, S., Taylor, L., Laing, L., Lewis, S., Ussher, M., Coleman, T., & Cooper, S. (2022). Are E-cigarettes associated with postpartum return to smoking? Secondary analyses of a UK pregnancy longitudinal cohort. BMJ Open, 12(4), Article e061028. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061028

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 17, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Apr 12, 2022
• Publication Date: Apr 12, 2022
• Deposit Date: Apr 28, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 28, 2022
• Journal: BMJ Open
• Electronic ISSN: 2044-6055
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 4
• Article Number: e061028
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061028
• Keywords: General Medicine
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7766908
• Publisher URL: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/4/e061028