Substance Abuse: Smoking                                                

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Because of the breadth of this topic, we will focus in on smoking and alcohol. Know that contraception should be provided with plenty of patient education for patients using other illicit drugs. Pregnancy should be delayed until it can be drug-free.

 

 

Tobacco

 

There’s no better time than the present to encourage your patients to quit smoking. Women of childbearing age are no exception to the general health risks posed by smoking and are also risking their reproductive health.

Though many women choose to quit when they find out that they are pregnant, there are advantages to quitting before attempting to become pregnant:

The best outcomes for smoking cessation in the general population are achieved by combining counseling with pharmacotherapy. Pharmacotherapies have not been proven safe for use during pregnancy, so quitting before pregnancy can be facilitated by the use of these drugs.

Though not backed by specific data, it is logical to conclude that preconception smoking cessation would result in even better outcomes than those reported for cessation in early pregnancy.

Move to the next screen to find out how to help your patients quit smoking.