Perceived safety of smoking a few cigarettes during pregnancy and provider advice in a sample of pregnant smokers from Romania

• Published in: Addiction (Abingdon, England) England), 2021-02, Vol.116 (2), p.394-399
• Main Authors: Jaber, Rana, Blaga, Oana M., Dascal, Marina D., Meghea, Cristian I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Anxiety; Cigarette smoking; Cigarettes; Clinical trials; Counseling; Cross-Sectional Studies; Demography; Drug dependence; Female; Fetuses; harm perception, LMIC ‐ low and middle income countries; Harm Reduction; Health care; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health Personnel; Humans; Infants; Medical personnel; Mental depression; Nicotine; Pregnancy; pregnancy smoking; Pregnant Women - psychology; providers' advice; Romania; Safety; Smoke; Smokers; Smoking; Smoking - psychology; Tobacco; Tobacco Products; Women
• ISSN: 0965-2140; 1360-0443
• DOI: 10.1111/add.15201

Aims To assess the prevalence of the perceived safety of smoking a few (generally fewer than five per day) cigarettes during pregnancy and identify associated factors in a sample of pregnant smokers in Romania, a middle‐income country. Design and Setting Cross‐sectional design with a convenience sample using a polled data set collected between 2016 and 2019 in the formative and baseline phases of the Quit Together randomized control trial (RCT) in Romania. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered by research assistants in clinics in the formative phase and self‐administered through the study website at the RCT baseline. Participants A total of 217 pregnant smokers (mean age = 28.5 ± 5.8) enrolled in the formative and RCT phases of the research project. Measurements The main outcome was the perceived safety of smoking a few cigarettes during pregnancy (generally fewer than five per day). Covariates included the health‐care providers’ advice towards smoking tobacco cigarettes during pregnancy, socio‐demographics, the presence of depression and anxiety symptoms and level of nicotine dependence. Findings More than 35% of participants agreed that smoking a few cigarettes during pregnancy was safe for them and their baby. The perceived safety of smoking a few cigarettes during pregnancy was significantly associated with being told by health‐care providers that it is acceptable to continue to smoke cigarettes in small amounts [odds ratio (OR) = 3.08; 95% CI = 1.35–6.99; P