Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Comparing The Smoking Topography Of Usual Brand Cigarettes In Pregnant And Non-Pregnant Smokers, Cecilia Louise Bergeria

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Introduction: Most pregnant smokers report abruptly reducing their cigarettes per day (CPD) by ~50% shortly after learning of pregnancy and of making further smaller reductions over the remainder of their pregnancy. Laboratory and naturalistic studies with non-pregnant smokers have found that these types of reductions often lead to changes in smoking topography (i.e., changes in smoking intensity to maintain a desired blood-nicotine level). 19, 20 If pregnant women engage in compensatory smoking, they may expose themselves and their offspring to the same level of toxicants despite reporting reductions in CPD.

Methods: Pregnant and non-pregnant female smokers (n = 17 and …