A Perthshire smoking cessation scheme has been hailed as one of the most successful in Scotland.
Give It Up For Baby (GIUFB) was launched in Perth and Kinross in 2008 and offers pregnant women a financial incentive to kick cigarettes. New figures reveal that around one in five women on the scheme has remained smoke free for at least three months after the birth of their child.
Of the 260 women within Perth and Kinross who have signed up to take part, around 60% stay smoke free for four weeks and around 36% for 12 weeks.
While just 21.5% stay off cigarettes long term, NHS Tayside says the results are better than those recorded by any other smoking cessation scheme in Scotland.
Participants attend a pharmacy every week for carbon monoxide tests and receive £12.50 credit on a store card if they can show that they have not been smoking. The credit can then be used to buy groceries and baby products at selected supermarkets.
That funding can continue for three months after the birth of the baby, giving infants the best possible start in life and also helping to improve the health of their mums, who are also offered nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and group support.
The scheme has been run as a joint project between NHS Tayside and its partner agencies. Health professionals and community groups including the Community Learning and Development Partnership and local tobacco alliance are already learning from its success.
Tracey Furness, a support worker with GIUFB, said, “Giving up smoking is the single most important lifestyle decision that anyone can make to improve their health immediately and this is especially true in the case of pregnant women.
“Women who smoke during pregnancy run a higher risk of miscarriage and are more likely to have babies who develop health problems in later years.”
For more information on all of NHS Tayside’s Smoke Free Services and to find out about signing up for GIUFB, call 0845 600 9996.
Smokers can also visit the Smoke Free Services page at www.facebook.com/nhstaysidesmokefree or text “Smoke” and their name to 84555.