All Policies Include Coronavirus Cover
Call for an instant quote 0345 90 80 161
Open Mon to Fri 09:00 - 17:30
30 January 2015 09:42
Offering shopping vouchers to pregnant women who smoke may help to encourage them to quit
Offering shopping vouchers to pregnant women who smoke may help to encourage them to quit, research has found.
Scientists at the University of Stirling and Glasgow University carried out a study involving 612 women who were between 16 and 24 weeks pregnant.
The study was aimed at finding out whether financial incentives can help deter pregnant women from smoking.
As well as not smoking and eating healthily, women who are expecting should arrange pregnancy travel insurance if they are planning a holiday.
How the research worked
Participants were divided into two groups, with both being offered the NHS Stop Smoking services and one group being given £400 in shopping vouchers if they gave up the habit while they were pregnant.
Those in the shopping voucher group had to commit to an appointment in person and decide on a date by which they had to quit smoking.
They were initially given £50 and then handed further vouchers worth £50, £100 and £200 if they managed not to take up the habit again for up to 38 weeks after the agreed date.
A nurse tested those who claimed to have stopped smoking before they were rewarded with the vouchers.
At the end of the study, it was found that nearly one in four (23%) women in the voucher group had given up smoking compared with only around one in 11 (9%) in the other group.
The findings of the research have been published in the British Medical Journal.
What the academics say
The authors of the report wrote that smoking in pregnancy is one of the main preventable factors behind ill health and deaths in newborns and new mothers, both in Britain and in other countries around the world.
They added that existing interventions such as the NHS Stop Smoking service are not very effective, and argue for financial incentives to be added as a "promising and potentially cost effective new intervention" to current services.
17 March 2020
Escape it all with a visit to one of the world's hidden island gems.
[more...]
02 July 2021
It's time for some Mediterranean sun and unforgettable sights. Here are five of our favourite must-sees in Malta.
Take your pick of the best beaches in Portugal, spanning more than 500 miles of the Portuguese coastline.
Holidays are back but not quite as we know them. Here's a quick guide to what to expect when travelling to and from green list countries.
28 February 2020
From tulip-filled trips to rose-tinged rests, these destinations are the perfect way to see in the new season.
04 January 2021
Join us on a journey to Ancient Greece to discover more about history's most revered statue.
Head north for a light show like no other. Discover how you can see the Northern Lights for yourself.
Discover more about the magnificent waterfall perched on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
10 December 2020
Don't sleep on the world's most impressive dormant volcano.
A destination that stands head and shoulders above the rest.
19 November 2020
Take a tour of one of South America's most captivating natural landscapes.
Discover the hidden depths of the world's most recognisable desert gorge.