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

Abstract

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 < 0.01], perceived harm reduction of smoking light cigarettes (OR = 2.67; 95% CI = 1.19-5.97; P = 0.02) and moderate to severe depression and anxiety score (OR = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.13-0.84; P = 0.02).

Conclusions: More than one-third of pregnant Romanian women appear to believe that smoking 'a few' cigarettes during pregnancy is safe for them and their fetuses. Those who are told by their health-care providers that it is acceptable to smoke in small amounts during pregnancy have higher odds of perceiving smoking 'a few' cigarettes during pregnancy as safe compared with other pregnant Romanian women.

Keywords: Cigarette smoking; Romania; harm perception, LMIC ‐ low and middle income countries; pregnancy smoking; providers' advice.