title: Smoking and oral contraceptive continuation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Smoking may be related to early discontinuation of oral contraceptives (OC).
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a planned secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial. Women aged less than 25 initiating OC at three inner-city publicly funded family planning clinics enrolled in the study. Subjects reported smoking status at enrollment; 3- and 6-month interviews assessed OC continuation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred eighty-nine (12%) of 1598 participants were current smokers. Smokers were more often lost to follow-up than nonsmokers (P<.01). Among participants with a 6-month interview, only 26% of smokers and 46% of nonsmokers were continuing OC (P<.001). After adjustment for confounding factors, smokers were still somewhat less likely to be continuing OC (adjusted OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4-1.0). This association was unrelated to number of cigarettes smoked per day.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that young smokers may be more likely to discontinue OC within 6 months than nonsmokers. Smoking may be a marker for risk-taking behavior that extends to the premature discontinuation of OC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. clw3@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Westhoff
authors.forename: Kandice
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Robilotto
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heartwell
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Mimi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zieman
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cushman