Higher taxes, smoke-free policies are reducing smoking in moms-to-be

Higher taxes, smoke-free policies are reducing smoking in moms-to-be: It's estimated that almost 23 percent of women enter pregnancy as smokers and more than half continue to smoke during pregnancy, leading to excess health-care costs at delivery and beyond. In one of the first studies to assess smoking bans and taxes on cigarettes, along with the level of tobacco control spending, researchers have found that state tobacco control policies can be effective in curbing smoking during pregnancy, and in preventing a return to smoking within four months on average, after delivery.