title: Craving and Withdrawal Symptoms During Smoking Cessation: Comparison of Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Smokers.
abstract: Although pregnant smokers are aware of the negative peri- and postnatal health consequences of smoking, the cessation rate in pregnancy is low, raising the question of why pregnant smokers have difficulty quitting. Reasons might be that pregnant smokers experience more intense craving and withdrawal symptoms than non-pregnant smokers. We compared craving and withdrawal in 306 pregnant smokers versus 93 non-pregnant women using data from two smoking cessation trials. Complete data were analyzed using pre-quit and post-quit (2 weeks after quit date) craving and withdrawal measured by the 12-item French Tobacco Craving Questionnaire (FTCQ-12) and French Minnesota Nicotine Withdrawal Scale (FMNWS). Pregnant smokers started smoking and smoked regularly earlier and succeeded far less at quitting smoking by week 2 than the general population of smokers (11% versus 43%). Post-quit date FTCQ-12 general score was higher in pregnant smokers compared to comparison groups, and was driven by elevated emotionality and expectancy. FMNWS decreased significantly less among pregnant smokers than among non-pregnant smokers. Insufficient reduction of craving and withdrawal symptoms in response to a quit attempt may partially explain why pregnant smokers may have more difficulty quitting than non-pregnant smokers. Because this was a historical comparison, findings are preliminary; however, they might foster further investigation of differences in craving and withdrawal symptoms in pregnant versus non-pregnant smokers.
authors.affiliation: Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière AP-HP -Faculté de médicine, Université P. and M. Curie - INSERM U1178, Paris, France. Electronic address: ivan.berlin@aphp.fr.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Berlin
authors.affiliation: Interactive Professional Services, Catonsville, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Edward G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Singleton
authors.affiliation: Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Heishman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D066249:Craving / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009538:Nicotine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011247:Pregnancy; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology*; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D009538:Nicotine
keywords: Craving to smoke; Non-pregnant female smokers; Pregnant smokers; Smoking cessation; Withdrawal symptoms