Knowledge and attitude towards smoking of pregnant women in Greece

• Main Authors: Athina Diamanti, Vasilios Raftopoulos, Katerina Lykeridou, Aikaterini Daliani, Stamatia Giannareli, Stamatina Palaiou, Sotiria Schoretsaniti, Christina Gratziou, Paraskevi Katsaounou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: European Publishing 2017-05-01
• Series: Tobacco Prevention and Cessation
• Subjects: smoking cessation; active smoking; e-cigarette; pregnant smoker; Passive smoking
• Online Access: http://www.journalssystem.com/tpc/Knowledge-and-attitude-towards-smoking-of-pregnant-in-Greece,70838,0,2.html

Introduction The aim of the study was to evaluate the smoking status of pregnant women and their knowledge and attitude towards smoking cessation, in Greece. Material and Methods The research was conducted between May and December 2016 in two public Maternity hospitals in Athens, Greece. A structured questionnaire was filled in by 246 pregnant women. Results 17.07% of pregnant women reported that they continued to smoke during pregnancy. Almost all pregnant smokers (81,3%) reported that they had considered quitting smoking and 69,9% of them had actually tried to quit. 50% of them failed quitting. 69.9% of pregnant smokers reported that they were not adequately supported by their partner and family in their attempt to quit smoking. 66.2% of pregnant smokers smoke the majority of their cigarettes in public places (cafeterias and restaurants) and only 10.8% reported also smoking at home. 22.5% of pregnant women have tried an e-cigarette. 7.8% of women reported been exposed to passive smoking by their partner, 40.3% reported that the main source of passive smoking exposure was in public places. Finally 91.2% reported having been informed about the risks of active and passive smoking during pregnancy. The main source of information was reported to be the internet (17.1%), instead of the health care professionals (14.9%). Conclusions Having not being informed and helped adequately, a significant percentage of pregnant women continued to smoke throughout their pregnancy. The failure in imposing the clean indoor air law in public places in Greece has also contributed to the increased passive smoking exposure.